#26inMarch

Want to join me in being active this month?  One thing I never expected to take away from that 30 day challenge I participated in was how much I'd like motivating others and keeping them accountable.  The coach I worked with actually asked me if I wanted to be a coach with her and run my own challenges, but that involved getting involved with her direct sales team and I'm not interested in committing to another business.  But still, it was flattering!

I've had 'goal buddies' for many things before in my Tastefully Simple business and it really is helpful.  So, why not have goal buddies in my health/fitness goals?  The more the better, right!  I made a goal in February to do 25 workouts during the month, and I hit that goal (even if I did have to do a double workout day the last week....Jillian Michaels in the morning and evening is a lot, but necessary when you are trying to hit your goal!)  So, I added another workout in March.  Want to do 26 with me this month?  If you're on Instagram (or even Facebook...though I rarely hashtag there) use the hashtag #26inMarch and let's work together this month to stay active!  It will be fun...share your progress with us.

 

Results!!

Today marks the end of the 30 day challenge I did with Four Fit Sisters and I'm so excited with my results.  I won't post the before/after pictures here on the blog, but I'm happy to share them with any friends that want to message me about them.  BUT...I am excited to share some numbers with you!

In the 30 days, I lost 8.4lbs and a combined 18.75 inches!  I still have more work I want to do to get my stomach looking like I really want it to, but I know these 30 days got me on the right track and I'm really inspired by all I learned.  I highly recommend their website and their challenges.  They're all run similarly, but for reference, I worked with Marta, the oldest sister on the site.  Definitely worth checking out!

Learning a lot

Almost two weeks ago, I began a 30 day health/fitness challenge.  My reasoning was simple - I just wanted the motivation and accountability to get back on track and make sure I am in shape for Cancun in a few months.  I did NOT realize, however, that as part of the challenge, we'd be asked to go at least the first 14 days dairy and wheat free.  I thought she was crazy and I did not know how I was going to do it.  But now, 12 days in, I've learned so much. 

I don't want to continue to be dairy and wheat free.  That I know.... I miss my creamer in my coffee, I'm eager for a big pasta dinner with garlic bread, and I'm itching to bake something.  Anything!  But, I sure have realized why she wanted us to do this.  My stomach is flatter than it's ever been {well, since having kids, I should say!}.  The other night, we made lettuce wraps and I used Bayou Bourbon, as always.  I thought I was doing good because I skipped the noodles we serve on the side, but I didn't realize the sauce has wheat in it....and my stomach was so bloated that night.  Crazy.

Jarrod has welcomed some of the changes with me.  We're not eliminating both from our diet, but we both realize now that we should cut back a lot.  We're switching to almond milk, corn tortillas instead of flour (most of the time at least), skipping the cheese, etc.  We've tried new foods over the last two weeks - spaghetti squash and quinoa, to name a couple - and I've started drinking green tea more.  Little changes that will benefit us in the long run, for sure!

On top of the nutrition changes, I'm being held accountable for my workouts.  I started taking yoga (loved my first class!!) and lifting weights.  My heart rate monitor just died, but I'm excited to get a new one because watching the 'calories burned' increase during a workout is so motivating!  I definitely recommend everyone workout with one.

I weighed in at the beginning of the month so I could track my progress, as well as taking my before pictures and measurements.  I'm planning to do more pictures and measurements on Sunday, the end of my dairy/wheat free days, and then again at the end of the 30 days to see what kind of a difference I made in the course of the month, but as of this morning, I have lost 7.2 lbs this month!  Crazy to think that is almost half of what my goal was for the next three months.  Can't wait to buy myself a new bikini for the beaches of Cancun!

Biggest Loser

We're just a couple weeks away from the end of the Biggest Loser competition that I'm doing.  Like I mentioned before, Amy was the real motivation for me to get my rear in gear.  She was the reason I signed up for My Fitness Pal, and that was my eye opener.  I wasn't eating horribly, but I was eating way too much.  Then, when my Tastefully Simple team announced a Biggest Loser competition, I knew I wanted to sign up because it was just one more way to keep myself accountable and on track so I could get back to a healthy weight and reach my goal before Megan's wedding.  

Aside from logging my food on My Fitness Pal and watching my calorie intake, Jillian Michaels has been my new BFF.  The 30 Day Shred and her Kickboxing DVD are my two favorite workouts.  I also got a heart rate monitor which I love.  It's very motivating to see the number of calories burned while I'm working out go up.  Another huge motivator for me is knowing that I have to take a picture of the number on the scale and send it to the Biggest Loser group each week.  I recommend that to anyone wanting to stay on track and lose weight.  Get a weight loss buddy and hold each other accountable with pictures!  

Since signing up for My Fitness Pal in April, I'm down 12.4lbs.  I should be down another pound or two, but I've been way off track the last few weeks.  Riley's birthday week did me in.  With all that cake I lost track of what I was working for, and then with all the changes my body is going through with weaning Riley and now I'm sick....I haven't been doing the best with my eating or my exercise.  But, I still have that goal to meet and I'll do it!  I want to lose 4.4 more lbs before Megan's wedding.  

I feel better about myself and you can actually tell I've lost weight.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to go shopping for new clothes this fall.  My shorts and capris are getting too big now, so I'm sure my jeans won't fit either.  For 'normal' girls, this is a great thing.  For someone like me who hates spending money on clothes, I'm dreading it....but I guess it's a good reason to go shopping, huh? :)  

A Visit with Dr. H

Last week, I took the kids into the doctor.  Gavin had to have his 4 year check-up, and while we were there, they wanted to do a weight-check on Riley. 

Gavin, I think, only gained like a pound this past year.  I love our little man....all 32lbs of him.  Since Gavin's been falling asleep later and later each night, I asked about how much sleep he should be getting, and in our conversation, Dr. Harvey mentioned that some 4 year olds still nap for like 30-60 minutes a day.  Um, how about 2-3 hours a day????  Gavin still naps most days, and he naps well!  So, I think we're going to start opening his door after an hour so he might start waking up a little earlier.  Part of me thinks this is a good idea - maybe he'll go to be a little earlier at night, but it will help him prep for when he has to drop that nap all together; but part of me sure will miss that nice break!  

Then, the dreaded shots....I told Gavin I wasn't sure if he'd get shots or not.  I was going to see what his reaction was and then decide if I wanted to do them this year or wait until next year.  When I told him, he just said, 'Ok, we'll just ask Dr. Harvey and see what he says.'  He didn't seem concerned at all, so we just went with it when the doctor said said yes, that he'd get THREE shots.  FYI - shots for a dramatic four year old are WAY worse that for a baby.  He screamed like I've never heard him scream before, and cried, and cried, and cried.  We got up to checkout, and there was another mom in front of us so I tried to talk to him to calm him down.  I asked him if he wanted chocolate milk for lunch (a huge treat in our house) and, in between sobs, he said, 'I just want a toy.'  Silly boy.  He definitely milked it afterwards, too.  Not only did he talk me into an extra movie that afternoon, but I had to carry him to the bathroom when he had to pee!  It was really funny the next day though - Riley wanted to play with him, and as she tried to pull herself up to him, she pulled his shorts down and with them, came the bandaids.  Cue the tears again.  The kid that won't put a bandaid on freaked out when they came off.  He cracks me up.

Speaking of that little sister...she had her weight check, and in 2.5 weeks, gained 3 ounces.  After her last appointment (May 1), we stopped using purees so much and introduced her to table food.  Some nights, I pick her up from her high chair and the majority of her dinner is in her seat, so I don't know if it's helping her gain weight, but it sure is helping Shirley!  Oh well.  Our little kids are perfect just the way {and weight} they are. 

Totally shocked...

Riley and Gavin have always been similar in terms of their weights at their check-ups, but it was around 6 months that Gavin started to fall down the growth chart so I fully anticipated Riley to weigh more than Gavin at her 9 month check-up.  I've been putting her on my scale randomly (which I knew wasn't accurate, but still...) and was expecting her to be somewhere around 18.5lbs based on that.  Yesterday, at her 9 month check-up, this little lady was only 17lbs 3oz!  I've been telling everyone that she's so much bigger than Gavin was at this age, which I now realize was a total lie because Gavin was 17lbs 7oz at his 9 month check-up.  I was so surprised!  She dropped from the 75th to 25th percentile, but thankfully, the nurse practitioner we saw wasn't too worried.  I am hoping that based on Gavin's history, we won't have to go through blood work and all the testing they put us through with him.  I guess we just make small kids!

 So, we got orders to just up the amount of solids she's eating and were told it was ok to start offering her table food, which I knew was ok but we haven't started really yet because we had such a hard time with this transition with Gavin that I'm kind of paranoid about it.  I hope she doesn't have the bad gag reflex like he did.  Other than that, she's doing pretty darn good and she HATES to be examined by the nurses and doctors.  Holy tears, Batman!

Operation Baby Weight - Update

....And the update is that it's not working.  Granted, I haven't been as good as I thought I would be, but I haven't been any worse.  Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I've gained weight, not lost it.  SO, I haven't stepped on the scale and have no desire to.  I need to get with it soon!

 

Operation Baby Weight!

It's time to get serious.  I have to get the baby weight off and my body back in shape! Jarrod and I are about 95% sure our family is complete...ok, honestly...Jarrod's 100% sure, I'm 95% sure.  So I figured there is no reason to be dragging my feet right now.  There's NO reason why Riley is going to be 8 weeks old tomorrow and I still wear maternity pants most days.  {Really there are two reasons...I can't fit into most of my pants yet and maternity pants are comfy!}  But, I'm motivated now.  I have to run with it.  It's time to get cracking!  


Weight is just a number to me.  It doesn't really bother me to share, and tracking my progress here proved to be really motivating last fall when I did so well losing some extra pounds I wanted to take off.  So, I'm doing it again.


When I got pregnant with Gavin, I weighed 132lbs.  My goal was to be at least to that weight again before getting pregnant again, but that didn't quite happen.  I was 138lbs when I got pregnant with Riley.  I gained 35lbs with her pregnancy, topping off at 173.  I lost 21lbs quickly, but then never lost much more...currently, I'm at 153.  My plan isn't to weigh myself weekly and post those numbers or anything.  I just am going to update periodically.  But my goal is to eventually get down another 28lbs and get to 125, which is closer to where I was when I got married.  


So, here's my plan of action.  Today, I'm going through my closet to get a lot of the maternity clothes out of there.  If I don't have much to wear, I feel like I'll stay motivated!  I plan to try to walk, do yoga, or do an Exercise On Demand workout everyday.  I'll do crunches with Jarrod at night before bed.  And, lastly, since it takes an insane amount of time for our water to get hot in our bathroom (which drives me crazy because of all the water we waste) I put a set of light weights in there and I'll do some basic biceps/triceps/back/shoulder exercises with them.  And somehow, I have to learn to control my sweet tooth...  That's going to be the tough part!


Wish me luck!
 

Wednesday Weigh-In

As I expected, I gained 0.6lbs this week.  A weekend in St. Louis filled with lots of eating out and donuts will do that to you!  Back on track now...Also, I'm thinking you may be getting sick of these updates, so I'm going to every other week for now.  Thanks for your support and keeping me motivated!  (And a side note - Shirley's up to 81lbs....at least 5lbs heavier than her last vet appt so she's officially on a diet with me!)

Wednesday Weigh-In

Yesterday was such a busy day, I realized I didn't post a weigh-in.  I lost 0.8lbs last week, which considering how many watermelon margaritas I had with Megan, I think that's a great thing!  So, at 138.6, I've lost a total of 6.9lbs since the beginning of August!  Yay! :)

Wednesday Weigh-In

Considering the week I had and the fact that I'm feeling rather bloated, I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale and saw the same number as last Wednesday.  No loss, no gain...  I'm sure next week will be a different story since Megan is here visiting and I'm sure I won't be eating the best.  Oh well....

Wednesday Weigh-In

Woohoo!  Down another pound!  Honestly, I wasn't expecting any loss this week.  I definitely had a few days this week where I just wanted to snack all day, and then Gavin and I made cupcakes on Monday, but I'm so excited to see 139.4 on the scale this morning because it means it's the first time since having Gavin that I'm back in the 130s.  :)  So, 6lbs down, about 9 more to go for my 'goal.'  I was explaining to Jarrod again this morning that 130 was my goal so I'd be about the same weight I was before getting pregnant with Gavin.  His thought:  I should shoot for what I was in high school - around 105!  Probably not going to happen any time soon, dear....

Wednesday Weigh-In

I wasn't as good this past week at entering my calories.  But, I lost one more pound.  At 140.4, that means I've lost 5.1lbs since starting this journey.  The Spark People website recommended losing a pound a week, so I guess I did well this week.  Jarrod brought home the Insanity DVDs from work and we started them.  We did the "Fit Test" a couple nights ago, and then did Day 1 this morning - at 5:30am!  Getting up early wasn't a big deal, but Gavin also woke up then, he was scared of the DVD, and my hips hurt a lot now, so I'm not sure I'll stick with these DVDs or not.  We'll see!

Wednesday Weigh-In

I wrote recently about my need to lose weight, and decided that another way to keep my self motivated would be a weekly weigh-in, and posting my results HERE!  I signed up for Spark People, and though time consuming at first, it has really helped me be more accountable.  I realize now that I have to count out my 10 tortilla chips when I want them so I make sure I'm only eating one serving!  {They are such a weakness for me!}  I enter almost everything into the site and track my calories. {I'm still having trouble with some of the meals we cook.  Like the other night, I made stuffed bell peppers for the first time, and I couldn't figure out how to calculate the calories for that.}  Of course, I have to have a cheat day on the weekends.  We like to make breakfast and I'd like to be able to relax with a nice margarita while lying by the {baby} pool.  But, I'm trying my hardest to be good the rest of the week.  So, today starts my weekly weigh-ins.  I started out at 145.5, and my goal is 130, which would put me 2lbs lighter than I was when I got pregnant with Gavin.  Today, my weight was 141.4. Slowly - I'll get there! 

This is a motivating picture for me.  It was taken the day after we found out I was pregnant ~ my first "belly" shot.  And, I'm thinner there than I am now.  So, I need to get back to that point, at least.  I don't want to start out another pregnancy weighing 15lbs more than I did with Gavin. 

  

Some updates

Happy Monday!  We had a great weekend.  It's HOT and HUMID here.  I can't remember when we last saw a day that wasn't in the 90s, so a forecast of 87 tomorrow sounds heavenly!  We spent time this weekend playing in the pool - you know, Gavin's blow up pool.  :)  You do what you can!  :)

I've been asked how Gavin's potty training is going.  Well, it's not really going anywhere.  We had a few good days, but now the only real time he's interested in using the potty is right before his bath.  He now has 9 pair of underwear, but when I show them to him and tell him we're going to wear them, he throws a fit.  So, we're just waiting for now.  I did get an eBook this weekend called 3 Day Potty Training.  It's interesting....I'm trying to decide if I want to try it or not.  The author swears if I follow her technique, he'll be fully potty trained in 3 days.  Hmmm....

As for me, remember a while back how I talked about how I was going to come here and lose all this weight?  Well, it hasn't happened.  Unfortunately, when I started watching Gracie, I stopped going to the rec like I should.  They have strange child care hours, so that also makes it difficult.  Plus, since I hurt my back again, it's not fun to work out.  I decided I had to get back on track so I signed up for Spark People.  It's like Weight Watchers and you track your food intake and exercise, but it's free.  Well, I put in my height and weight, and it came back with me in the overweight category.  Nice....  There's a 34 lb range of "average" weights for my height, and I'm not even in that average.  I really have to get serious! It's time for a change.  Let's hope I can stay motivated. 

Some motivation

I've done really well on my scrapbooking resolution. My "Journal Jars by Jen" endeavor is well underway. My February calendar is booked with 5 parties...I'm making progress on my resolutions! Well, some of them at least....

I haven't been good so far with my eating and exercising to lose weight. Especially with Jarrod traveling so much. I tend to eat ok for my meals (like I'll buy turkey or ground chicken, which we don't tend to eat much of if Jarrod's here) but it's the snacking that gets the best of me when he's not around. I just feel like snacking all the time! But, I've been inspired!

My parents and Megan all started going to the gym. Megan has been going for a while. She might take a "break" every once in a while, but for the most part, she does well with her exercising. When the weathers nice, my mom would go for walks or bike rides. I'm glad she's getting back into the routine of working out and going to the gym, too. My dad, though, is the inspiration. (Hi, Dad!)

We've all been on him to take better care of himself. He's making us all proud. Today when I talked to him, he told me he's lost 11 pounds. But, what surprises me even more was when he told me what he ate today. Oatmeal....yogurt...I don't know if I've ever seen my dad eat either of those. I'm proud of you all! You've got me motivated. :)

I know if I post here about my journey, you'll get me on track. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I want to get to my pre-baby weight finally. And I'm going to do it with your help! Starting today! :)

Gavin's trip to the doctor

So, we had Gavin's 15 month check up with his new doctor tonight. I was really anxious about going, because he is an "expert" on sleep issues, and I knew we were going to have to do what he said about Gavin's sleep. First, we found out Gavin's only gained 3 ounces in 3 months is basically off the growth chart. So, we're going to go for bloodwork to check his thyroid and kidneys, etc. And as for the sleeping issues and how he basically nurses all night and only wants to sleep while attached to me, he said we have to go cold turkey with weaning and do the cry it out method. I had this feeling that's what he'd say...but it's going to be so hard! We have to stick with it. I need a full night's sleep!!! So...we're starting this weekend. We need to wait until Jarrod won't have to work because I'm sure we'll be up all night!

We're gaining weight!

Though he's still in the 10th percentile, Gavin has gained weight. I took him to the dr. today for a weight check and he's 18lb 3oz., up from 17lb 7oz. a month ago. Since he's eating better and starting to try some new things without gagging, she said she's not so worried. We'll just keep offering new foods and see how he does with them!