It's Been A While...

I haven't blogged in months, not because I've fallen off the wagon or because I've given up.  Nope, I'm still trucking along and so so very close to my goal weight.  I hit the big 150 mark on my home scale, but have yet to get there at my Weight Watchers meetings.  As of Tuesday, I was 153.2, so I'm only 3.2 pounds away from hitting my goal for WW.  Yay!!!  This is big because, after I hit my goal weight and maintain it for six weeks, I become a lifetime member and get to stop paying.  Big yay there!  

The hard thing is, it seems like the last few pounds do NOT want to come off.  That paired with the fact that this winter has been so horrible and depressing makes for a long, drawn out process of getting to goal.  In the past couple of months, I've slacked a lot.  I missed out on the gym for a while because of a foot injury (that kept me in a walking boot for four weeks) and because of crappy weather.

But, Tuesday night at my WW meeting, I really did some thinking about how I am not 100% in the WW mindset anymore.  And I really think that the cold weather and boredom have been killing my momentum.  So, I gave myself a pep talk and am going to push through!!!  I had a great day yesterday and am planning another great day today.  I'm back at the gym (though low impact for a while since I'm still rehabbing my foot) and feeling good.

In the past couple of weeks, I've been asked by a few people to share some of my recipes and WW tricks and tips.  And, since I have this so lonely and neglected blog, I thought I'd revamp it some to not only keep me motivated and accountable, but to share some of the tips that I have accumulated over the past six years of WW (and a lifetime of watching my weight!).

So look for some changes in the next couple of days.  And, be sure to come back to check out lots of recipes, tips and tricks (and maybe share some of yours, too!)

Big Milestone!!

This morning, I weighed in at 159.2...  Yep, I am back into the 150s!!  I haven't been here since I got pregnant with Jackson five years ago.  I must say, it felt great to see that number this morning on the scale!  I am so proud of myself for finally making my health a priority and working hard to look and feel better.  And to celebrate, I bought some new summer clothes -- size 10 shorts and small and medium tops :)

I am still doing Weight Watchers and making sure to track my points online every day.  I am avoiding eggs because Garrett is allergic, so that makes a lot of temptations off limits (like the amazing wedding cake that I had to pass up this weekend!)  I am also doing cardio and weight training at the gym.  So far, the combination has been working really well.

I don't have a lot of time to write because I need to get ready for my Monday morning Zumba class.  All I can say is that I feel SO much better, physically and emotionally, than I did this winter.  So bye bye 160s... don't want to ever see you again!

5k and Today

The Race 4 Recess 5k went really well on Saturday.  It wasn't too hot, only 65, but it was very humid.  And the course had lots of long, gradual hills.  These combined made for one sweaty mess for me!  But, I finished in my best time yet - 33:58!  The only reason I know this is because of my new watch :)  The finish line didn't have a visible clock, so I relied on my watch for that time.  They're supposed to post official results and pictures at some point, so I'll add those when I get them.  All in all, it was a nice course, a good morning and a fun time.  I can't wait to run another race!

So, today is Monday -- weigh in day for me!  This morning, I was 164.2, which is only 0.3lbs down from last week.  Meh.  I was expecting more since I worked out a lot this week and stayed on track with my points.  However, I did have Five Guys with the family (using my extra weekly points) and played Bunko with snacks last night.  That's a lot of sodium for one day.  We'll see how it shakes out next week, but I'm not too bummed out with that.  A loss is a loss!

Today, I'm heading to Gold's for Zumba, then playing with the kids outside and doing laundry.  It's already pretty warm , so I have a feeling we'll be breaking out the water toys soon.  Garrett is going to LOVE playing in the baby pool!

As for my weekly workout plan, I'm doing Zumba today, running intervals and lifting tomorrow and Thursday and hopefully fitting in another Zumba class on Saturday morning.  I may just run instead.  We'll see.  Either way, I'm planning for another active week!

This Girl is on Fire

It's been a pretty good week for me, especially getting in my workouts.  I took a Zumba class on Monday, which is so much fun!  I love the instructor and the energy level of the people in the class.  Then, I ran intervals and did my lifting circuit on Wednesday.

On Wednesday afternoon, I got my Garmin running watch in the mail, so I had to try it out ASAP!  So, on Thursday morning, I got up with Joe and ran while he was getting ready for work.  I did two miles at about an 11:30 mile.  Not too bad for me at 6:30am!

Then, this morning, I went to the gym and did a quick warm up on the bike, then did my lifting circuit.  I'm running my first 5k of the season tomorrow morning, so I decided to skip intervals and save my legs for the race tomorrow.  I haven't run a 5k in over a year, so I'm really excited to get back out there.  I'm leaving in a little while to pick up my race packet.  Then, it's relaxing with the kids for the rest of the night.

So, I have a few running songs that push me along when I'm getting tired or bored, so I'm loading them onto my Ipod shuffle for the race tomorrow.  There is one song that is pretty corny and actually from a cheesy movie that I happen to love (Center Stage, anyone?) but it always keeps me moving when I hear:

"There's a passion inside, an inner strength that drives
Can't nobody take that away from you
It's the greatest high, you set the floor on fire
when you come alive"

So, with that song in my playlist, I'm going to run tomorrow morning.  I'll update with race results sometime tomorrow.  I'm not fast, but at least I get my butt out there and try!  And, I have a good time.  I love races!!

Back to Blogging

Things have been insane in my house.  We've had lots of sicknesses (LOTS, including a month-long round of pneumonia for me), Garrett's baptism, visitors on and off, the March for Babies, winter vacation to Florida, etc.  In all the craziness, my blogging went out the window.  Thankfully, my healthy lifestyle did not.  I just didn't blog about it.

Here's the update: I am doing great and am down to my pre-pregnancy weight (with Garrett, anyways!)  This Monday, which is my weigh-in day, I weighed 164.5 lbs.  I'm down almost 25 lbs since October and 44 lbs since giving birth to Garrett almost eight months ago.  Yay!!  My goal weight is 150, which was my pre-pregnancy weight with Jackson.  I'd like to get closer to 140, but we'll start with 150, which is within my healthy BMI range for my height.

So, here's what has been going on.  I started back to the gym (with the kids in the gym's daycare) and have been going at least three days a week since March.  I had three personal training sessions where I learned how to use all the machines and created a circuit to follow.  Since then, I have been lifting two days a week, running intervals on the treadmill and doing Zumba one or two days a week.  I'm also starting to run outside since the weather is getting nicer. I'm running my first race, a 5k here in Charles Town, on Saturday.  My goal this year is to run a fall 10k.  I've never run farther than 4.5 miles, so I'll need to train for that this summer.

As for nutrition, I am still following Weight Watchers.  I'm careful to track my points every day online and am finding lots of new foods to try out to keep things interesting.  I'm also drinking a lot more water (especially during and after workouts) and eating tons of fruit now that it's coming into season.

Just as important as what I'm doing is who I have been working with - my friends!  A group of us have been encouraging each other via Facebook and we're all losing weight together.  We weigh in on Mondays and check in to keep each other accountable.  It's been going so well and I couldn't imagine going at this alone.  Thanks, ladies... you know who you are ;)

Overall, things are going really well.  I feel much better about myself and am fitting into a lot of my old clothes.  I still have some work to do to get to goal, but it's much less daunting now and seems easier because I have a routine established.  And, for reaching my pre-pregnancy weight, I bought myself a Garmin Forerunner 10 running watch!  Yay!!  It is supposed to be delivered today, so I'm planning an early morning run tomorrow to try it out.  Can't wait!

More Than Just Slightly Embarassed

Well, I gave up.

I gave up on tracking calories.  I gave up on measuring portions.  I gave up on running.  I gave up on myself.

It's time that I start valuing me and what I need.  And what I need is to lose this baby weight and start feeling better about myself.

So I broke down, splurged and signed up for Weight Watchers again tonight.  I wanted to do it myself, without anyone's help.  I thought I could track my calories and get motivated through another site.  But I am not comfortable with that method.  I am comfortable with WW because I know it works.  So, I'm back on the horse.  I need this.  I need to start feeling like myself again.

I know everyone says this.  It's such a cliche, the "I'm really going to do it," and "I need to focus on myself," and "this time I am going to change" mantras.  We get on the horse, do well for a week, a month, a year, then fall back into the same lousy patterns that made us fat and lazy and unhappy in the first place.

Truth is, I know I am going to fail.  I am going to revert back to bad habits.  I am going to get lazy.  But, I am going to fall down, forgive myself, then get back up again and keep going.  This is not a diet, not a short-term solution, but a lifestyle change.  I know this - I say it all the time.  I really need to start living it (yes, the cliche is making me nauseous too!).

So, some short term goals:

- Measure and track every meal and snack
- Get active everyday, even if it's just for a few minutes
- Give myself a break ( I am the mother of three young kiddos, after all!) and try not to be so negative
- Write at least one blog post a week

I'm going to try to focus on my health, both mental and physical, to get back to a place where I can say that I am happy to be me.  Right now, I'm just in a little bit of a slump.  But, I'll be back.

And no more avoiding the blog just because I'm not doing so hot.  I need the accountability!

I'm Baaaaack!

Well, I didn't fulfill my promise of keeping my blog going while pregnant.  I tried to be "good" and continue with the healthy lifestyle I'd begun last year, but it was really hard to maintain while pregnant.  The cravings and exhaustion and soreness crept up on me and, before I knew it, I had given up on my healthy eating and fitness plans.

So, it's no surprise that I gained 44 pounds during this pregnancy.  I guess it's par for the course - I gained 50 with Jackson and 46 with Natalie.  At least it was a downward trend instead of the other way around, especially considering that I was pregnant longer with Garrett than with the other two!

Now that Garrett is a month old and I'm feeling back to normal physically, I am ready to start tackling this extra baby weight.  As of this morning, I weighed 189 lbs.  I've lost almost 20 pounds since Garrett was born and need to lose another 25 to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight.  After that, I'd like to lose another 20 lbs, but I'm going to take this one step at a time, focusing first on losing the pregnancy weight.

How am I planning on losing the weight?  Previously, I'd relied on Weight Watchers to take off the pounds.  Unfortunately, WW and I had a falling out a few days ago (long story - message me if you want details!) so I am going to try another method for tracking my daily food intake.  It's a site called babyfit.com (a sister site to Sparkpeople) and it caters to pregnant women and new moms -- perfect for me!  Based on my stats, the site calculated my target calorie intake.  I can track my meals and snacks via my personalized site, which is very nice and very similar to what I did with WW's online program.

As for fitness, I haven't been cleared by my doctor to work out yet (but I'm hoping that happens at my 6 week appointment next Tuesday) so I have just been taking walks around the neighborhood.  I'm planning to start running again soon, and am hoping to be in good enough shape to run a 5k in December.  We'll see how that goes!

So, that's the plan!  I'd love to hear any stories, tips or encouragement, so feel free to send any of those my way!