gotta be creative

i'm saving for a wedding. you're all aware of that. maybe others are more sure that a wedding is coming in my near future than i am? because i'm definitely not acting like it, with the stuff i'm eating. staying within my calorie goals, i'm just eating junk. friday afternoon i did buy fresh berries. they were all cheap, because they're in season. cherries, blueberries, and strawberries. nom nom.


i had to cancel my gym membership at work. well, i didn't really HAVE to, but i chose to. when we move to the apartment complex, there's a gym open 24 hours there. i'll visit it all the time for free. but for now, that $40 i'm spending on the gym at work can be converted into things like, oh, healthy food (why is healthy food so much more expensive than junk...)? wedding items? you know. plus, i DO have the Wii Active-- just need to use it more often. and i haven't found any good counts on how many calories you use by packing, but when i'm packing heavy things, i do work up a sweat! it's a lot of lifting and bending. probably not the greatest for my joints, but great for toning muscle-- at least that's what i tell myself.

so, until the move, i'll get my exercise by the approximately 45 minutes of walking i get (spread out throughout the day) by catching public transportation and going between campuses at work, using my Wii in the evenings, and packing as needed. i REALLY need to keep my weight in check between now and the wedding!

PS i'm back under 200! as of this morning, 198.2 to be exact. it's not a great step, but it's better than being up.

Back on the Wagon

Okay, so since I have to go back to work on Tuesday after two months of maternity leave and C-section recovery, I figured I might as well utilize the free gym we have on campus. So, I expect you all to keep me accountable. I'm thinking I will walk on the treadmill or do the elliptical on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and use the weight machines on Tuesday and Thursday. I am 15 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. My first goal is to get back down to that size. My second goal, and I know it might take awhile, is to lose a total of 45 pounds. Yes, this is lofty. Yes, it takes quite a bit of time to lose weight after baby, but I'm tired of feeling lumpy and hippy and flabby. I know that the most important thing is to be healthy and to have energy for my son, but I want to look good, too! I haven't felt good about my body in about five years, so it's about time.

So, would you please do me the honor of prodding me on toward my goal?

P.S. This is the cutest reason to gain 45 pounds. :)

P.P.S. Does anyone know of a good way to track progress for those of us who don't have iPhones?

I'm back! :-)

Ok, so post-wedding bliss is phenomenal. We went our honeymoon, ate out more times than I care to count, and participated in alternate forms of exercise that go along with newlyweds. ;-)

I haven't been on a scale for over a week. Will and I don't own one, so that is the first thing I want to buy with one of the numerous Target gift cards we received.

I have been snacking on chips... but also fruit. I've been trying to add breakfast to my routine. It's a lot easier when I can buy breakfast foods that I like. And fruit. I mentioned I was eating fruit, right? Cherries, grapes, and strawberries have been on sale lately so these are the big ones!

So, this is me checking in. I should be back on track to offer support, my experiences, and hopefully, a few laughs, too! :-)

so confused!

my post-lunch weight this week is the same as my early morning weight last week.
i ate like crap.
i didn't exercise.
but i must have lost a little weight, because i wore my skinny jeans on saturday. and they fit just fine. also, i got my engagement ring sized. it came in an 8, and i'd lost enough weight that we bought my wedding ring in a 7. so went to size my ring to a 7, and that was too big. he did a 6-3/4, but soon as i put on lotion, that slipped off. so i had to go down to a 6.5. i don't think i have EVER worn a ring size smaller than a 7. since i was 4 maybe? hmmm.
so it turns out, this site is helping me. i'm making wise choices and changing my diet and practices, which means i dont' have to try so hard.

remember, i'm like kyrstin was, and i have to maintain now. i don't want to get my dress in a few weeks and have to send it back for major alterations.

Frustration

So... this post will be all over the place. Where I vent my frustrations at my progress, my current shape etc.

Returning from vacation last week I weighed exactly the same as I did when I left. I chalked it up to the increased activity levels and availability of fresh foods, not to mention cutting out that weekly + trip through the drive through. Ryan had been making some health changes here at home as well and together we have been focusing our efforts on eating more veggies, more fruits, fewer red meats, and just healthier overall. So why is it that this week I weigh over a lb MORE? I have hit a bit of a plateau around my current weight, which wasn't completely unexpected but it is a little disappointing.

My vent for the day...if you have heard this story feel free to skim. When I got pregnant the first time I was a skinny minnie. I put on 40 lbs during pregnancy and gained an additional 10 after the birth. By 3 months postpartum I was 50 lbs up from my original weight. It took over a year to drop 30 of those lbs to get down to the between pregnancies weight. Contrast this to my most recent pregnancy. I gained 30, left the hospital 15 lbs lighter and I'm down those last 15 right back to that between weight. So why don't the clothes fit? The clothes I bought that first year after having #1? I weighed more that first year than I do now, I am eating better now, so why is dressing myself every morning an exercise in frustration? Clothes squeeze and bunch, cling where they shouldn't and show off more than I intend. Even the clothes I bought on vacation were the "lesser evil" so to speak. Am I stuck here until I'm done nursing? Will it take a breast reduction to let me fit back into the appropriate clothing size, will I always have to walk the line between mumu and porn queen? I am too stubborn to buy a completely new wardrobe and give away all the clothes I still like but just can't wear. Ahh ok... vent over.

back on the wagon

I'm up to 200 lbs again. dangit.
so i'm actively-- i mean ACTIVELY-- back on track. i carefully planned all of my meals today, because i know that is my big problem. when i don't plan my meals, i eat too much. i ate a lot of food today, but it was all fresh and awesome, and i wasn't hungry at all.


8:45 am, Breakfast: 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries, 1 cup light-n-fit vanilla yogurt, and 1/4 cup homemade granola. Total: 289 calories


11:50 am, Lunch: 1 cup lettuce, 3 chopped mushrooms, 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/4 cup chopped zucchini, 1/4 cup croutons, 2 tablespoons wishbone light balsamic basil dressing. Total: 132 calories.


3:10 pm, Snack: 1 cup fresh strawberries dipped in 1/4 cup light-n-fit vanilla yogurt. Total: 106 calories. (not pictured: beef jerkey, 82 calories)


5:10 pm, Dinner: 1 cup chicken tortilla soup, 27 tortilla chips (crunched up), 3/4 cup salsa. Total: 359 calories.


6:30pm Snack: 2 graham crackers- halved, 2 marshmallows, 1 hershey bar. Assembled into s'mores. Total for 2 s'mores: 374 calories.

Total for today, I've had 1342 of my allotted 1613 calories.
and.
i'm.
full.

It's awesome.
I'm back. I'll be keeping much better track now and documenting more what i eat, while being a lot more careful while i plan what i'll eat.

Plus, my reasoning is here now: my dress will arrive in about a month, and I'd like to use this month to lose weight for my one and only dress fitting.

Abdominal Compression

I can't find much info on this, but I read on the forums on babycenter.com that postpartum belly compression helps to shrink belly fat. I can't afford something fancy like the Belly Bandit, but I have an abdominal compression belt that I bought years ago that I decided to try today. MK had had one in previous years and said it really helps (obviously, he didn't have postpartum belly, but it works for beer gut). I'm not sure how it does, but I really want to shrink this flap of gut over my C-section incision.

But like I said, this isn't just for those who have had a baby. I think it works for anyone who has a not-so-flat tummy. I got mine for pretty cheap at Wal-mart and figure it's worth a try. I'll keep everyone posted.