I am totally rocking the Bella band today. Not because I am showing or have outgrown my pants yet (though they are getting a wee bit tighter. But because I am so tired of my fat clothes that I squeezed myself into a pair of pre-pregnancy (#1) pants that go over they hips but have no chance in hellen of ever buttoning.

Still, a few months ago I wouldn't have been able to get them over my knees.

More awesome than that is the weather. After weeks of 90+ with high humidity....





I think a lunchtime walk is in order!

Nice long update- with a suprise in the middle.

Yeah, it's been a while. That's just the kind of blogger I am...i.e. not a good one. I'll do a very quick update, that will likely end up being very long.

When we last spoke, I had recently dropped about 12 lbs and was working on dropping more. And I did. By the end of May, I had dropped 11 more pounds, making a total of 23 from mid-February through the end of May. Putting me at a non-obese 207 lbs.

230 starting weight-1/12/11
220- 10 lbs- Jump start-3/14/11
209- 21 lbs- no longer obese
200- 30 lbs -prebaby weight
174- 56 lbs- no longer fat
160- 70 lbs-Healthy weight

I was running regularly and getting my shit together. I was well on my way to MILF status. I ran a 5K for the first time in 2 years and was up to running 5 miles on the weekends. Jillian and I were homies. I was a regular on SparkPeople.

There is actually a 20lb difference between the left and right pictures.

Then something happened. I know what you're thinking. Another story about how she fell off the wagon complete with excuses.

Well, this time your wrong. I didn't fall off the wagon. I have been tracking my food and eating healthy. I don't run much these days because it's hotter than hells playground where I live. But I haven't been losing weight.

Because on May 29th, this happened.

Sorry it is such a blurry picture. My phone sucks ass.

Yeah, that's right. I am, as they say in England, up the duff. Which sounds really dirty but cracks me up so I like to use the phrase. How's that for an excuse?

I am very excited and a little terrified. One kid is a lot of work, two kids blows my mind.

I'm not out of the woods yet with this pregnancy and it hasn't all been peaches and cream. I was so excited when I made it to 6 weeks 4 days because that was further than my last pregnancy. Only to start spotting the next day. I was crushed. I was certain that it was over. I knew that we wouldn't try again.

But then the spotting stopped. And that wasn't all like last time. So I had a little hope. And then we went to the doctor and saw this.

Measuring perfectly. Heart beating wildly. Just like mine and Scott's. We were so freaking nervous. I was afraid to be optimistic, but there it was.

I am only 10 weeks, so like I said, I'm not out the woods, but I felt like sharing. Next week I have an OB appointment and the following week is my NT scan. Assuming those go well, we'll come out of the closet then.


As I mentioned above, I have been continuing to track my foods and eat healthy. I really, really can't gain like I did in my first pregnancy. To date I have gained only 1 lb. That is more attributable to a vacation in Tennessee than pregnancy though. I hope to not gain anymore in the first trimester and gain only 20ish for the whole pregnancy. For me, that means keeping very close tabs on what I'm eating.

I have switched to tracking food at myfitnesspal.com (eleesee) because it is just so much easier.

So that's up with me. I'll hopefully be back before 3 months have gone by again.

100 Days to Summer Challenge- Week 2 review and Week 3 preview

As always first things first:
Starting: 219.6
Week 1: 218
Week 2: 216.6

Woot! Sure I would love to be knocking out 2 lbs a week but about 1.5 pounds a week is what is working for me right now and I'm happy with it.  (If anybody tells me I'm gaining muscle- I will come though the screen and beat you with my arm flab. No chance I am gaining muscle as quickly as I should be dropping fat.)

Nutrition:  5 pts
Pretty easy for me this week. I have always had a high fiber diet. I'm making my husband eat more fiber and we are all paying for it, but he'll be healthier in the long run. DH did plan a meal and it was technically healthy. It was completely uninspired but it counts. Baked fish and corn. I think he does that kind of thing so that I will think he is incapable of planning a decent meal and I will continue to have to plan every. single. mother trucking. meal for the rest of my life. But I digress.

Strength: 5 pts
That was a whole lot of crunchin'. But I did a million crunches and I rocked 'em all.

Cardio: 5 pts
Once again, I was doing videos at 9:00 last night but I got it all done. I don't like jumping. My vertical leap is miniscule and I literally cannot jump on 1 foot. These videos that require even minimal coordination are challenging for me. That's why I like running. Simple movements. I counted toddler chasing and wrangling as part of my 30 minutes of play since the toddler seems to think it is a game and laughs hysterically. I think I got 2,000 minutes of that in this week.

Balance: 4 pts
Same old story. Just can't seem to get the meditation done. I put it off until I have time to focus on it and then forget. I'm making it a priority this week.

Total Warrior pts: 19
Suck on that! Yeah!

Week 3
Wk 3 looks to be more of the same as far strength and cardio go (Seriously, I can't tell you how many times I have to retype strength before I get it spelled right, every single time. It's just one of those words for me.) Strength is focusing on upper body, which is great. My shoulders are beyond weak. They always have been.

I'm really excited about the nutrition challenge this week. Having to track every bite is exactly what I need. I am such a nibbler. A Triscuit here. A veggie stick there. Hopefully, the prospect of having to track it will keep me from those little nibbles.

In sum, bring it Snitches!

100 Days to Summer- Week 1

First things first. At this mornings weigh-in, I was 218. That's a 1.6 lb loss this week. Pretty good but for several days last week I was below 218, I know all about fluctuations and water and that stuff but you always wish you could be at your lowest on "official" weigh-in day. But I'm happy. A loss is a loss. I'll work harder this week. I know a few areas in my eating that need to be tightened up.

Cardio- 5 points.
It came down to the 11th hour. I was dancing and doing the kickboxing video at 9:00 last night, but I got it all done. May I just say, I HATE the jumping video. I have a 2 mm vertical leap. Getting the miles in wasn't a problem and I did jumping jacks in my office during lunch. I really liked having this plan to get some extra cardio in, I need it.

Strength- 5 points
Honestly, this was easy peasy. I did the squats throughout the day at work and knocked out the other tasks in a single evening. Looks like things have been taken up a notch for week 2 which is awesomesauce, because I really need some toning.

Nutrition- 5 points
Another one that was pretty easy. I've said before, I have a healthy baseline diet I just have a bad habit of binging on crap on top of the healthy diet. None of the tasks were about restriction so I had no problems. I know a lot of people have trouble with the fiber. Here are some of my fave ways to get fiber.
Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal
Lentil Soup
Triscuits
Morningstar Farms Black Bean Burgers
Raisins
Legumes, legumes, legumes!

Balance- 3
Ummm, not so great. I just didn't get the meditating done. I would forget or my mind would be too busy to even attempt a try. I will try again this week. This one should have been 4 points but I couldn't think of an action until after I had submitted my points and realized that night weaning my baby last week was a huge action towards my well-being. Now I will get some sleep!!! Oh well.

Monday Weigh-in
Last week: 220.2
Today: 218

That means I've met my first goal.



230 starting weight-1/12/11
220- 10 lbs- Jump start-3/14/11
209- 21 lbs- no longer obese
200- 30 lbs -prebaby weight
174- 56 lbs- no longer fat
160- 70 lbs-Healthy weight




Week 2 looks like it will be pretty similar to week one as far time goes. Scheduling this stuff out is key for me.

100 Days

100 days until summer. That's a lot of time to make some progress. That's what the Rants From Mommyland 100 days to summer challenge is all about. It starts tomorrow. I'm on the warrior team which means I am combining challenges from 4 disciplines: Cardio, strength, nutrition and well-being. I will also be "winning" at bad-a$$ness along the way. If you want to learn more about the challenge, check out the Rants team page.

My starting stats:


Weight: 220.2
Neck: 14.25
Chest: 40.25
Abs: 36.5
Waist: 37.5
Hips: 48.5
Left Bicep: 14
Right Bicep: 14
Left Thigh: 25.5
Right Thigh: 25
Left Calf: 16.5
Right Calf: 17




I'm hoping to end the challenge under 200 with about 5 inches off my waist. I won't be bikini ready but I would be able to skip the beach mumu. Along the way I'll be fitting in a couple of 5Ks.

1 Month

1 month ago today, February 9, 2011, began this journey. I joined SparkPeople on January 12, inspired by the lovely Lydia at Rants from Mommyland. I had been "trying" to lose weight since last winter after my daughter was born. By trying, I mean wanting. I just couldn't get it together during that first year of motherhood though.

But on February 9, something clicked. I'm not sure what happened. I don't know what was different about that day than January 18 or February 2 or any of the days for the last year. I think it all comes down to just being ready. You really have to be ready to embark on a project like this. I was tooling around on SparkPeople and read a little about the Sparkdiet that said in the beginning to worry more about tracking food and less about calorie ranges. I decided that I could do that. I could track my food if I didn't have to worry so much about calories right then, I just wanted to get my binging under control.

I also decided to start trying to make the 8 glasses of water goal. I don't traditionally love water but I gave it a try. After a few days of tracking everything and drinking water, I was in like Flynn, baby. I was ready to count calories and start the C25K program. Once I went on that first run, I was revived - it felt so good to run again.

A month later, I am down 9 lbs as of this morning and finishing up W4 of the C25K. I've also been working in a little 30 Day Shred and been very amazed at how much progress I have seen on that. (Here is where I fight the urge to downplay and say that "well, it's easy to see progress when you are starting from such a low point).

The self-flagellating part of me wants to beat myself up for not getting going earlier. But I wasn't ready. There are many people who are ready earlier in motherhood, but I wasn't. Dealing with working full-time while trying to be a good mom took all of my focus.

The other negative part of me wonders if I'll be here to write a 2 month post. Like so many here, I've started and stopped many times in my struggles with weight. The answer: I don't know. All I know is I am here today and I'm pretty sure I'll be here tomorrow. There are a lot of things coming up that I need to be here for, The Virtual 5K, the RFML 100 days challenge (Bring it, Snitches!!!) and just continuing to get know some of my new friends. I love watching other peoples' progress as much as my own.

So that's where I am today. Here's where I'll be tomorrow. One day at time. One pound at a time.

Marching Forward

On this the last day of February, I am looking forward to starting a new month and setting some goals for the month.

1. Complete C25K team March Challenge
a) Run 3x per week
b) Keep in calorie range all 31 days (HUGE!!! Challenge for me)
c) Reduce waist circumference

2. Limit refined and white carbs to one meal per day 5x per week

3. Start working in some strength and yoga 2x week (I've been doing the Shred a couple of days a week but I feel like I need something more focused and less Jillian)

I think that is enough for the month. Probably more than enough but I'm going to try. I'm not setting a weight loss goal because I don't want focus too much on that. I'm really focused right now on regaining my running form and ability and losing weight as a mean to that end.

Feeling someone else's age.

When I used to exercise a lot, the one thing that never went away was being sore and tight in the mornings when I got out of bed. Then I got pregnant and stopped exercising but getting out of bed was still an ordeal for other reasons. Then I had the baby and didn't exercise and getting out bed stopped hurting.

I didn't realize that until this morning. After 2 runs and some weights this weekend, I felt it when I got up this morning. My calves were so tight as I hobbled to the nursery, I must have looke like Franstein to my daughter as I hobbled in. It bought it all back and reminded me of the one downside to running. Luckily it's not enough to stop me. In fact I kind of like it, in a sick way.

My pain was enhanced by the fact that on Saturday as I was walking into Target, carrying my daughter I tripped over a curb and fell. Since I was holding the baby I could reach out to brace or slow myself down and I turned to protect her so the left side of my body took the brunt of the fall. I was uninjured minus a few scraps and a major blow to my pride and the baby was completely unscathed, but I am a bit sore from the event.

So I started out this morning feeling 48 rather than 38 but rather than deter me, it just makes me want to get in better shape.