Ugh.

Apparently, I gained 3 pounds this past week? Don't know how that one happened.

Day 16

Do you take time for yourself?

I do!! I have always tried to make time for myself once a week or so, and Robert is always wonderful about watching Kaylee while I do whatever. Mostly it has been dog agility and girls nights with my friends. Robert gets time for himself as well, and I think we are both better parents and spouses because of it.

Since Cadence was born I have been super motivated to get my body in better shape. Having people ask if you are pregnant just days after having to delivery your stillborn daughter is enough motivation for ANYONE to exercise and lose weight. Most days I exercise with Kaylee right along side of me. Sometimes I do it while she is sleeping, but mostly when she is awake. Kaylee LOVES when I jog with her in the stroller, so it makes it easier for me. I don't know how much I would run if she still hated her stroller like she did as a baby. So exercise has been a HUGE part of me taking time for myself.

TEN!!

I did it!! I lost 10 whole pounds! It took me almost two months, but I did it! Actually I have lost 11, but who is counting?

That means since I last posted about weight loss I have lost 3.4 pounds!

I have been running a bunch and trying to avoid shin splints at the same time. I am always having to remind myself that it takes a long to build up the strength in the muscles needed for longer distance running.

In between my running days I have been having a hard time being consistent in what I do. Most day I still walk the dogs for an hour. Some days I add Pilates, 30 day shred, Yoga, or P90X to my walking. I need to come up with a solid schedule of what I am going to do so I don't have to decide every day what I am going to do.

With winter coming up, I have been trying to decide what I want to do. I really don't like running on the treadmill, but I can't run in my VFF's in the snow....I will lose toes. Some of the alternative options I have come up with are:

• Find an indoor track that will let me bring my stroller - This would be the ideal option!
• Get a gym membership and just deal with treadmill running for the winter
• Get a gym membership and do swimming, classes, and weight training instead of running
• Put a hold on my running until spring and focus on strength/weight loss
• Find an alternative minimalist running shoe that will keep my feet warm and dry while running
• Switch back to running in tennis shoes - Haha, not likely!

I want to start P90X soon. I think I need a little more preparation physically first though. One thing I think I might do is start and finish the 30 day shred (all 3 levels in 30 days) and then start P90X. If I am going to reach my goal of weighing 150lbs by the end of the year, I need to get on it!

As for my diet. I have been trying really hard to eat healthy choices. I track my calories in and calories burnt. Some days though, it is just tough. I need to find some really tasty healthy recipes that wont cost me an arm and a leg to buy ingredients for. One that I tried the other day that was super yummy is:

Baked Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. In a shallow dish, combine the butter, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Place bread crumbs in another dish. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat with crumbs.
2. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Drizzle with remaining butter mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear.
3. You can choose to double the butter and lemon juice and add 2 tablespoons of honey. Or drizzle honey over the chicken instead of the leftover butter mixture.

Weighing In

I haven't weighed in for a while, partially because I have been super busy and partially because I could feel that I hadn't lost much weight. One thing I figured out that I was doing wrong was that I wasn't eating enough calories. I was BURNING a ton, but then not eating extra to compensate for that. So my body started storing up for what it saw as starvation.

Now that I got my eating in order, this week I lost 2.3 pounds which brings the weight loss to 7.6 pounds total.

Yesterday I was able to run my first mile without stopping. It was SO easy! Granted, I was going slower than my usual runs have been, but I was also pushing a stroller with a 30 pound toddler in it! I am hoping I can now stay at running a mile 3 times a week and then add some more distance in a couple weeks.

The hardest thing for me so far has still been eating healthier foods. I can work and exercise myself to death, but until I change my eating habits none of the weight I lose is going to stay off.

Weigh In

The weight loss continues!! I am excited that the weight is slowly, but steadily coming off! I am using My Fitness Pal to track my exercise and calories and it seems to be helping keep me on track. Most days that is.

My one thing I am having a big problem with is my sweet tooth. I swear it is an addiction! It was easier to kick some other really addictive bad habits I have had that it has been to give up sweet stuff.

I have been meaning to get up early to run before Robert or Kaylee gets up, but it just hasn't happened. I stay up too late at night to be getting up at 5 am.

Weight loss for this week was 2 pounds even. That makes 5 . 5 pounds total so far! Yay!

Weekly Weigh-in

For sure this week I need to get something posted other than weight loss!

This week was awesome! I got to go swimming with Robert and Kaylee twice, and it was really fun. I am hoping to be able to go by myself sometime to try my hand at swimming laps without drowning.....it will be interesting.

I also ran a bunch this week! I am still only running 1/4th of a mile, but usually I do two of those separated by about 1/2 mile of walking. My plan for next week is to get up to 1/2 mile without the walk break.

This weekend is my first dog agility trial since July and it has been amazing (so far). Our runs haven't been perfect, but very near that! Plus the trial site is really beautiful, I have to remember to take pictures tomorrow, and requires a lot of walking to get to the ring and back to the dog. Today I walked a total of almost 9 miles and only a small portion of that was my agility runs. I purposely did some running to and from the agility ring so I could get in my 1/4 mile for the day. I don't know if I did it, but I think I walked enough to make up for it if I didn't get a full 1/4 mile in.

I think on Saturday next week I am going to try running early in the morning before Kaylee gets up.....if I can get up early enough lol.

Anyways, weight loss for the weeks is 2.2 pounds! - Ok, that looks like it says 22, but it is really 2 . 2

Weighing In

I think I have done pretty well for my first week of weight loss. Actually it has been a week and two days, because I want to continue my habit of getting on the scale every Friday. I have gotten in 5 runs (1/4-1/3 of a mile each) totaling about 1.5 miles. Today I did two 1/4 mile jogs with a half mile of walking in between them. On my off days I have been going hiking at the dog park and/or doing strength training and Pilates. No injuries so far, just some very tired and slightly sore leg muscles. I am hoping they recover over the weekend so I am not starting off sore next week.

As for weight loss, I lost exactly 1 pound this week!

One thing that I have noticed is that I really need to work on eating more healthy foods. Every time I get really hungry I start craving disgusting fatty foods that are usually from some fast food place. Expensive AND unhealthy! The past couple days I have been doing better, but it is difficult. I am hoping that it will get easier once I detox from all the fast food, soda, sugar, and fatty foods.

One of my plans for this weight loss journey is to take before, during, and after pictures. Probably only one picture a month, but I definitely will be taking them once I start P90X. Don't count on seeing them until I start making progress lol!!

Losing Weight and Getting Fit

BEWARE: This may turn into a separate blog eventually.

After being asked if I am pregnant 3-4 times in the past two weeks, I am determined to get back in shape. I am talking the kind of shape I was in....well never, but Marathon/Triathlon running shape.

You may have noticed the list of fitness goals at the side of my blog. I have been not-so-patiently waiting to heal from giving birth to be able to start completing those goals. I gave on Wednesday and did a little bit of strength training (very low key) and crossed off Exercise One Day. I have been walking and hiking with the dogs and Kaylee every day this week, but I don't count that as my exercise for the day. I figure on the days I take them for a really long walk/hike I will do strength training and I will do some sort of cardio on the days with regular walks. This morning I ran a little bit while walking the dogs, and that was SO wonderful! I was glad I had Patriot (old out of shape dog) with me to keep me from doing too much too soon because I just wanted to keep going and going!

I also have weight loss goals listed there. I am pretty sure I have lost all that I am going to at 188.4, but I am crossing my fingers that a little more will come off all by itself. I can live with losing 16 lbs in a week and a half though!

There will also be a few health "rules" that I will by doing my best to follow. Some of them being:

• No eating after 7 pm (this will be hard because I am used to eating my dinner after Kaylee goes to bed around 8 or 8:30
• Nothing but WATER to drink - at least 64 oz every day
• 1 salad a day
• Generally eat more healthy foods - more raw veggies and fruits

Let the weight loss begin!

Now that I am done with breastfeeding, I am really looking forward to losing weight! I know that most people can exercise while nursing, but for me, it would reduce my supply noticeably. I had the goal to breast feed until Kaylee was a year old, so I made sure that I wasn't getting too much exercise. That isn't so conducive to weight loss.

But as of tomorrow, I will be done totally with breastfeeding Kaylee. I am sad, but she just isn't getting enough food from me. I stopped nursing her during the day about 5 days ago, but have still been nursing at night so that I could make it to the 9 month mark. After tomorrow it will be over. The good thing so far is that I haven't been uncomfortable at all! That shows that I really wasn't making much milk anymore.

Anyways, back to the weight loss. I am determined to get back to my all-time adult low of 135. That is 43.6 pounds that I need to lose. Right now, that sounds like a TON. The plan is to get into jogging. First though, I need to walk, a lot to get back into a little better shape so that jogging doesn't completely exhaust me.

I would love to run a 5k or 10k with Robert sometime this year!

Gone on Too Long

I realized again today that I have been using the excuse (I had a baby) to justify the fact that I STILL don't fit into my pre pregnancy clothes. Ok some of them do fit, but most of them it is kind of forced.

To go to Vegas, I decided to buy some new jeans and ended up having to go up a size. It was rather discouraging because I have 5 or 6 perfectly good pairs of jeans that fit only 18 months ago :( I have used every excuse in the mommy book to get out of putting my rear end in gear and getting back into shape....

• "I was pregnant" - Yeah, you were, 6.5 Months Ago!!!
• "I am still nursing exclusively" - That doesn't mean your legs are broken!!! You just can't over do it.
• "I don't have time" - Hello!! She takes two 2 hour naps Every Day!!!
• "It is Winter" - Hey, I didn't say these excuses all made sense!!!
• "I am still losing weight, slowly" - Who are you kidding? Just because you don't get on the scale, doesn't mean the number isn't still going UP!!!
• "I can't eat dairy yet" - And that means exercise is forbidden why??
• "I don't have time to eat healthy" - So plan your time better STUPID!! Remember those 4 hours a day you have?

See, I have thought of it all. Well, today that stops.....well maybe in a couple days. This time I have a legitamate reason to not start working out like crazy yet. I am sick, and have been for almost a week now. Once I feel back to normal I am going to get going.

For now, I packed up all my maternity pants (yes I was still wearing them on the days my other jeans didn't fit very well) and went through the clothes I do have, making note of everything that doesn't fit yet. It was really difficult to realize and admit that most of my clothes still don't fit. Maybe now I will get myself back to normal.....or better!

Another reason I might finally get up and exercise is that I competed in an Agility trial on Saturday, and running around for 2 minutes at a time almost killed me! Ugh. Ok, I was sick, but I am sure sick or not it would have still kicked my butt.

It is embarrassing to be this out of shape.

I WILL DO BETTER!