Wordless (Away on Business) Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Hiking!

Therapeutic Run

Some of the most beautiful things have happened to me in the last few months, and I try to think of those things often, so I don't want this to be a woe is me post but I have to get this out.

There has been a LOT of turmoil in my life over the last few months as well. The infertility and the whole loss of a baby that never existed, welcoming L to our family, going through some of the scariest financial times of our life in regards to our business, weight gain from all the infertility shots and hormones, being DEATHLY ill with the flu on Christmas day and the whole week of my girls winter break, a 2 year old that's been diagnosed with early asthma, issues with my marriage that we are trying to work on, grandparents that raised me being VERY ill and in and out of hospitals, and so much more that I haven't even discussed on this blog. Then work! Work...To top it off my Secretary put in her 2 week notice (which really was 1 week and a day) on the day I was admitted to the hospital on my death bed with the flu.

So yeah. Talk me off the ledge. Its been a LOT.

But today....today I had a free morning (which is VERY rare these days) so I put M in the jogging stroller, threw on my running shoes, and I ran...

....and ran....and ran...and ran....and I pounded out all those angry feelings, all the aggression, all the disappointment, bitterness, feelings of betrayal...and I just let it out...and I literally ran and said out loud "Just let it go...just let it go".

My anxiety has been THROUGH THE ROOF the last few weeks and I think its because I've had so much going on. And to make matters worse, I haven't been able to exercise in the last 4 weeks because of all of the above. What I'm realizing is that this anxiety that's piling up is due to the fact that I haven't been able to let it out, and I cant cover it up with medication anymore.

It was at this very moment during the run, that I could totally relate to fighters, boxers, cage fighters, mui tai fighters, etc. I can see that those people are probably people that deal with a  lot of anger and disappointment, or are emotionally turmoiled souls. Those feelings probably make them better fighters, etc. and that's is their way to let it out. I could be wrong, but that's my thought....

So even as a 5'1 115lb blonde mother of 3 girls I can totally relate to a 220 lbs male boxer.

It felt so good to literally pound out and rn out all those feelings. And I can only imagine that that's how they feel after a good boxing.

This morning I ran until I felt free, until I felt cleansed, and until I felt like all of the baggage was left behind. On the pavement. No longer on my back.

Vegan Once Again

I am once again declaring veganism! If you've been reading for a while, you'll know that I was vegetarian for almost 10 years before I got pregnant with M. Then in the first trimester I started getting these INTENSE cravings for beef! Not chicken, or turkey, or eggs, but all beef baby! I upped my spinach intake thinking I was low in iron and that would get rid of the craving, and well that still didn't work. Momma wasn't happy until I had a Wendy's cheeseburger in my hand! Turns out, despite being a beef eater once again I was still anemic. My OB put me on iron supplements, which I ended up having to take  until 3 months post partum.

Well ever since then, I have maintained a mostly vegetarian diet. I only have meat maybe 2x per week, but I do eat cheese and egg whites. (Let me just preface that I was never a vegetarian for religious reasons, or diet restrictions, it was purely for ethical reasons and the fact that I don't want my 9 year old to have boobs because she has been eating hormone filled chicken breasts her whole life.)

So yes, I started eating meat, and yes, I have always prepared meat for my family (K and my H are big meat eaters) but I have always paid the premium for that by buying only all organic, hormone free, well treated animal meat. Period. It's not the meat that I have a problem with, its how people treat to put them, and the shit they inject into them just to produce more meat, to make more money, to then put them on our table that I'm not down with.

I understand that not all people can afford to buy happy meat for their families, that today's society makes it hard to be vegetarian or vegan, or that a lot of people don't know how to properly maintain a vegetarian diet, but being veggie is easy for someone like me. Even as a child I was never a big meat eater, and salad is my favorite food for gods sake! No lie!

So I am going back to what I believe in, and going 100% meat, cheese, and dairy free. I will not push my beliefs on my family (although I do think little M is just like her mom, she is not a big fan of meat and salad and vegetables are also her favorite food) or anyone else, but I will always advocate for the ethical treatment of animals and cruelty free meat, whether I eat it or not.

And I can finally wear my Kiss Me I'm a Vegetarian Hello Kitty shirt again :)

CD 8

I started my daily OPK's this morning (today's was negative), took my last clomid pill last night (good rid dins!) and my last follistim shot just a few minutes ago! Thankfully nothing crazy happened this time. I have been doing the shots myself and I am pretty proud of myself! But lets face it, its either that or get stabbed again. So I think I'll just suck it up and do it.

I haven't started feeling anything in my ovaries yet, no dull aches or fullness so I am curious to see how well I respond this time. It is only CD 8 so maybe in the next few days I'll start feeling something. Next up- my ultra sound/follie check on Friday!

I know this is probably going to sound crazy, but during the midst of all this I am still trying to lose 5 pounds. Ambitious I know given that I am being pumped full of hormone this month but I AM DETERMINED. Of course, if I get pregnant I will ease up but until I see 2 lines it's full steam ahead. We are going on a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise at the beginning of June!! That means I'll be in a bathing suit for 7 days straight. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is!

I've been doing really well eating good and maintaining my exercise routine, and plan to continue to do so except the 2 days following my IUI. After that I might ease up a little on the intensity of my workouts during the 2ww until I test. Eeekkk! I'm scared already!

Would it be too much to ask for to lose 5 lbs AND get pregnant? : )

Meal Planning Monday

Here is my meal plan for this week. In no particular order :) Trying out a few new ones, as well as a few trusted entrees!

• Oven "Fried" Chicken Fingers with Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce served with some steamed broccoli. I'll have a big salad and top with this chicken, and drizzle with LF honey mustard dressing if I have left overs! I am a big salad eater and adding the chicken with honey mustard dressing gives a traditional salad a yummy makeover.
• Thai-Style Stir-Fried Chicken served with basmati rice (no more than 1/2 cup if your watching your weight!) There is even this how to video on how to make this. Its only 2 min and was very helpful.
• Cuban Chicken Pizza's - looks so easy!
• Baked Penne made with whole wheat pasta and low fat cheese with a big garden salad (my portion is no bigger than the size of my fist and my salad is HUGE!)
• Build Your Own Burger Bar on Toasted Sandwich Thins. Basically I make burgers and create an assembly line of choices including slice pickles, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sauteed mushrooms and onions. I also put out BBQ sauce, thousand island, mustard, mayo, and ketchup for condiment sides. Kay has fun with this because she can build her own burger, and everyone can get the burger they want! My burger usually consists of the burger (no cheese; an easy easy to cut cals and no ketchup; too much sugar) mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and sauteed mushrooms/onions!  I usually serve burgers with some homemade oven baked potato and sweet potato fries.

If You Want To Jump Start Your Diet...

Drink one of these...

But don't drink more than 2 in a week, got it? Trust me on that one ; ) My BFF in LA swears by these Kumbucha drinks, so when we went out for a picnic on my last day there we picked one up a the local heath food store (they can be found at most health food stores or Whole Foods). After a weekend of eating horribly we needed to get back on track. It is a raw, organic, enzyme, living organism drink that really gets things moving if you know what I mean. It doesn't taste the greatest, but I can choke down 1/2 at time. I've really never had anything like it. Its a great way to jump start your diet! And don't freak by all the little things swimming it....that's the good make you skinny stuff! It's weird, but it works! 

Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs

Before I go on with this post...I thought I'd let you know that I still haven't found my necklace. I find myself patting my chest multiple times a day for it and its not there. Even my kids noticed it was gone :(

So moving on.....

After boot camp on Monday, one of the nutritionist at my gym was offering a free seminar on carbs. I pretty much know all there is to know about nutrition and diet but I thought I would check it out anyways. I ended up learning 1 new thing (that dairy is considered a simple carb!), so I'm glad I stuck around for it. Anyways, I thought I would share with you all the difference between good carbs and bad carbs, what counts as a serving, and what are "good" carbs to eat.

First of all, carbs are the best fuel and energy for your body. The amount of carbs you should eat daily really depends on your fitness goals and activity level. Obviously if you are trying to lose weight, you should be at the lower end of the spectrum. But if you are trying to maintain up your endurance, or are training hard, you should be eating more carbs. When carbs are not used (when you eat too much for your activity level) they are stored in the liver or are directly converted into fat. Bad bad bad. So what you want to do it eat the amount of carbs that you need to attain whatever goals you have. The recommended daily allowance is 30g-200g. That is a HUGE variance. Again, that is based on your fitness goals and because we all metabolise carbs differently.

For me, my goal is weight loss. But because I am so active, I really can eat about 60g per day- or 2 servings of "good" carbs a day. Example of "good: carbs are: Oats, Grains, beans/lentils, whole wheat, brown rice or pasta, and sweet potatoes. Here is a list of foods- each one is 30g of carbs, or one serving.

1 cup whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup prepared brown rice
1/2 cup dry oats (Quaker, Coach's Oats)
2 pieces of bread (under 70 cals, above 5 grams of fiber)
1/3 cup of granola (Bare Naked Fit)
1 small potato/sweet potato/yam
1 whole wheat tortilla (above 6 grams of fiber, no sugar)
3/4 cup of beans (not refried)
Whole wheat flat brad (Flat Out)
1/3 cup of dry whole wheat couscous
Multi grain Wasa crakers
Melba toast
1 whole wheat pita
Ezekiel Products (Sprouts or Trader Joe's)
1 serving of cream of wheat
Kashi go lean, Uncle Sam's, Ezekiel cereals
Brown rice cakes
Natures Own products

So for me, because I want to lose weight I can have 1-2 of those things per day. Preferably before 4pm. That's one thing I have changed- no carbs at dinner! And let me tell you, I have noticed a difference already. It's like all the bloat is gone and my stomach is much flatter!

The "bad" carbs are simple carbs- carbohydrates that instantly turn to sugar in your body. You want to try and limit simple carbs in your diet as much a possible. This includes: ANYTHING white, fruit, honey, sugar, candy, ice cream, any dairy, and chocolate. You also need to keep an eye out for the amount of sugar in salad dressings- they need to be 3g or less!! And try and keep your fat content down; use cooking spray instead of oil, no butter, and lean proteins!

So there you have it- your crash course in good vs. bad carbs! Hope you learned something new.

Boot Camp

I'm starting a 12 week intense boot camp today. Not a little class at the gym like I've taken before, but a serious boot camp that my gym offers. We're talking lifting kegs, flipping tires, drills, all that! I'm really excited and a little nervous. You meet 3 times per week for 12 weeks and they track your progress throughout.I'm in pretty good shape right now physically, but even in my condition I know its going to be HARD. I'm excited though and love challenging myself, testing my limits, trying new things to mix up my workouts, and overall getting involved in something that's going to push me out of my comfort zone.....so boot camp it is! I can't wait!

In other weight loss news, I'm back in my size 27 jeans! Which is fabulous, but I still have some work to do. Anyone that's had a baby knows that even if you get back down to your size, your body is just not the "same" as it was pre baby. It will get there. It takes time I know, and that's part of why I wanted to take the boot camp. I need to drop another 8 pounds or so, and work on my core and inner/outer thighs. Typical woman problem areas ;)

Here is a picture of  me at the train station in Italy.

Which btw- yes I am working on posting some pics soon, this week I promise! Wish me luck today, hope I survive!

Operation Get Skinny: My Tips and Tricks

I've lost 3 more pounds since my last Operation Get Skinny post 10 days ago. How did I do that might you ask? Well I am going to tell you my friends! In addition to the weight loss tips I posted here a while back (which are all still great tips to follow and rules to live by), I am going to share with you some other tips and tricks I use to Get Skinny! Because it is not easy to lose weight. Not easy at all. As a matter of fact, it's like a war against weight. A daily battle, one that takes much thought and will power. So anything I find that works or makes things easier I am willing to share! 1.) Because I'm nice and 2.) I am not one to pretend that I am one of "those" bitches who's weight is just magically falling off...because that's not the case at all! I've worked and continue to work very hard everyday to get back to my pre pregnancy, pre infertility weight!

Tip # 1: Clean Eating is a MUST!

What do I mean by clean eating exactly? I mean a diet filled mostly with fresh produce and lean proteins (and not just animal protein, there are lots of other protein sources!) You want to avoid processed foods as much as possible, so no pre packaged frozen meals! I know I know, they are easy and convenient, but they really aren't good for you. You also want to avoid foods with a high fat to calorie ratio, and mostly importantly carbs and sugar. Consider carbs the devil when dieting. The only carbs that are okay or brown rice, whole wheat toast, or whole wheat pasta. Even then I would keep a very close eye on the frequency of eating these and your portions.

• Rice should be no more than 1/2 cup and pasta 1 cup, and no more than once per day- if that! I am eating carbs maybe every other day right now.
• You want to cut out all crackers and processed snacks as much as possible.
• Snacks should really be fresh fruits or veggies, low fat cheese, cottage cheese, raw nuts, a healthy granola mix, or something of that nature.
• Watch using high fat butters, oils, and high sugar sauces when cooking. I cook all my meats, veggies, etc. with Pam Olive Oil cooking spray. With the appropriate seasonings, you really don't need it!

So you get the idea, eat 'clean'. All the meals I prepare in my house are pretty clean. Its not only whats best while your dieting, but its better for your family as well. I don't know about you, but as a mother I want to teach my kids healthy eating habits from the go. You are responsible for laying that foundation. But does Kay get ice cream from time to time, yes! Because she's still after all a child, but do we keep it in the house. No! (see tip # 4)

Tip # 2 : Curb Hunger With Fiber

Not only it is good to keep things moving if ya know what I mean, but it makes you feel full too! You always here people say that eating a high fiber diet will keep you feeling fuller longer, and its true! But for me it was always such a guessing game as to what high-fiber was. So I adapted this little trick. When I get hungry I pop one of these; a Assorted Fruit Sugar Free Fiber Chewable. I love them actually, its like eating candy to me! They taste great, and really I'm not just saying that. So I chew one of these and chug a half of bottle of water, every night after dinner when I start getting hungry again or get the urge to snack. Works like a charm. I instantly feel full and I'm getting my fiber too!

Tip # 3: Drink Water, Only Water, and Lots of It

I drink 2 bottles while working out alone, all before 10 am. When I get hungry, I chug water, while I am eating, I chug water. Water is a skinny girls best friend!I am not sure how much water I drink daily, but its a lot. If you are one that likes something other than water with your meals, try tea, unsweetened of course. Or try one of those crystal light packets that you can add to your water.

Tip # 4: If It's Not in Your House, It's Not in Your Mouth!

Don't buy anything at the store and say to your self that you wont eat it. Because you will. In times of desperation, or the times you slip up (which we all do from time to time) that will be first thing in your mouth! So do whats best, and don't buy it in the first place. Because if its not in your house, it wont go in your mouth. And if you say to yourself that you are buying it for your kids, or your husband, stop right there. Do they need it? Is it good for them? The answer is no. So move on.

And lastly, because so many people ask me what I eat all the time, I am going to share with you what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: a Yoplait Greek Yogurt- my go to breakfast when I'm in a hurry. The honey vanilla is my personal fav! Full of protein, 0 fat, and only 130 calories. Coffee with FF french vanilla creamer.

Snack: 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese.

Lunch: 1/2 cup of jasmine organic brown rice with roasted edamame and sliced roasted carrots.

Snack: A gala apple with 2 tbps. of of organic crunchy peanut butter.

Dinner: 2 king crab legs steamed and plain (not an ordinary dinner for me, but they were on sale for 7.77 a pound!), and a huge salad with garbanzo beans, baby grape tomatoes, and cucumbers with super low calorie, super yummy Roaster Red Pepper Italian dressing and a squeeze of lemon juice! Such a great combo I have found.

Exercise for the day: 50 min. on the elliptical

Usually my breakfast consists of either the greek yogurt or egg whites with a sprinkle of reduced fat cheese and salsa. Lunch is usually a salad, with some sort of protein (beans, diced chicken, edamame). Snacks are fresh veggies, an apple or banana and/or some trail mix. And dinner is a big salad with no matter what I'm eating, and then a small salad plate sized portion of whatever I made that night for dinner.

I hope this helps you all who are trying to lose weight, and I hope you've found some of my tips helpful in your journey to a skinner you!!

Operation Get Skinny Update

Because I know you all are just dying to know how I'm doing, I thought I'd give you an update on my crusade to get back to my pre pregnancy, pre infertility treatments, weight and my progress so far.

Well. Its going pretty good. The weight loss has slowed down a little, but that was to be expected I did JUST have a baby and you always drop a ton of weight at first. Its always that last 10 pounds that is the hardest (although I still have around 20). I had a little set back with exercise 1 week because I was sick, then I had a major diet set back because of dreaded PMS. I need to learn how to control my diet while PMSing. I get BAD cravings for about 4 days before my period (and I mean cravings like no other!), so that was very difficult for me this month. The good news is that I didn't gain any weigh through all this, but I barely lost any either. I've only managed to lose about 3 pounds in the past 3 weeks or so, which is really isn't great. The important part is that I got back on track this week and have been hitting the gym or doing cardio at home and have been very diligent with my diet again.

So we are back on track to sporting a bikini in June (hey that's what I am telling myself to keep me going)!! And in efforts to "keep it real" I thought I would also share these frightening pictures of my 3 month post partum body...ya know because I really want to flaunt my pooch and all...excuse the fug make up less face, I did just work out!

From the front...

From the side...

AND the post partum pooch as I like to call it..

So here's to getting back to this very soon!! Stay tuned...

Meal Planning Monday

Here is this weeks line up. Got a few new contenders on the menu too!

• Grilled Beef & Veggie Kabobs (the weather is perfect for grilling right now, so we are trying to do more of that!) with a side salad.


• Sauteed Chicken Breast with Tarragon-Mustard Pan Sauce- I am excited to try this, it looks so easy and sounds delish!


• Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce over brown rice.


• Crunchy Parmesan-Mustard Pork Chops with sauteed garlic green beans.


• Grilled Balsamic Portabello Burgers with a avocado, red onion, and tomato salad.

Workout Woes & Weight Loss Accomplishments

I love to workout, so when I hit 6 weeks pp my booty was at the gym that day! The problem I have run into is that because I cant take Miss M to the gym with me yet (she has to be 3 months), I have to try and work around her morning nap schedule and my DH 's work schedule- which hasn't been all that easy. If she is sleeping, and DH is not busy, I will rush out to the gym. Usually I will get in a quick 30-45 minute cardio workout before DH calls to summons me back home, which leaves no time to weight train. We do have a gym quality elliptical at home, but the battery burnt out and I just got the new one yesterday, so I haven't been able to use that either.

Basically I have only been able to work out 2-3 times a week up until this point, which is simply NOT enough to achieve what I want to achieve. Yes, it is better than nothing, but I really need 5-6 days a week for 1 1/2 hours to get my body back. So the countdown begins until Miss M is 3 months old and can go to the gym with mommy! Then I can really get back into shape! Until then, now that I got the battery for my elliptical, I will be clocking in 1 hour cardio sessions daily at home. I am excited for that! Cardio is the number 1 factor when trying to drop weight so at least I can do that while I wait to really get back into the gym.

Now onto the good news...I've lost 37 pounds since Miss M was born!

That's the 30 pounds I gained while I was pregnant, plus another 7 pounds! I am pretty proud of myself! :::::pat on the back Lisa::::: I'm not to my goal weight yet, and have a ways to go but my stomach has down almost completely and I can now fit into more of my pre pregnancy "fat" cloths : )

Meal Planning Monday

Another Monday means another day of meal planning and shopping for the week at my house. I am so thankful to have such a great husband, he watched the baby this morning so I could sit down and plan this week's menu!

• Escarole Soup with Turkey Meatballs aka Italian wedding soup
• Shrimp Fajitas- quick and easy!
• Parmesan Chicken with roasted broccoli with garlic
• Turkey Stuffed Peppers with corn on the cob
• Meatless (soy) Chicken Pattie Sandwich's (this is my favorite brand, has a great taste unlike some other soy products and I've tried them all!) on sandwich thins with a green salad.

Meal Planning Monday

I have been trying to find new recipes to experiment with, specifically ones with few ingredients or things I have on hand (and of course healthy!). From now on to help you out, I will be posting links to some of the new dishes I try. Most of the time I get them from my Rachael Ray Magazine, which I love or online from various websites. So here is this weeks meal plan at my house:

• Baked Chicken Parmesan with whole wheat pasta and a side salad (I skip the pasta until I reach my goal weight).
• Homemade Pizza's
• Baked Garlic Lemon Tilapia with fresh sauteed veggies (zucchini, mushrooms, onions, red bell pepper, eggplant, and asparagus) and brown rice (I skip the rice too!).
• Chicken Enchilada Crock Pot Chili - I am very excited to try this one pot wonder!
• Stuffed Turkey Burgers on sandwich thins and a mixed green salad.

8 Great Salads

I LOVE salads; So its really no surprise that I eat a salad every day! Really, everyday! I have been a vegetarian many years of my life pretty easily because of my love for vegetables. These are some salads I have prepared and pictured at home over the last two weeks. I encourage you to try at least one of my delicious salads yourself, I promise they don't disappoint! Bon Appetit!

Strawberry, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Salad

Ingredients: Baby spring mix lettuce, sliced strawberries, goat cheese crumbles, and balsamic dressing.

Great Add-On: Walnuts or pine nuts (I had neither that day)

Classic Ceasar Salad

Ingredients: Hearts of romaine lettuce, croutons, parmesan cheese, pepper, and one of my favorite dressings, Ken's Lite Ceasar.

Great Add-On: Grilled chicken or shrimp

Asian BBQ Salmon Salad

Ingredients: Baby spring mix lettuce, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, roma tomatoes, and the star of this salad; pan seared salmon with a asian BBQ sauce I get from Fresh and Easy.

Great Add-On: Edamame!

Italian Style Salad

Ingredients: 1/2 Hearts of romaine lettuce and 1/2 baby spring mix lettuce, sliced mushrooms, black olives, diced red bell pepper, roma tomaotoes, sliced red onion & marinated artichoke hearts.

Great Add-On: Diced mozzarella cheese, croutons & sliced salami (I skipped all of these because I am watching my diet and all these things hike up the calories)

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Ingredients: Spring mix lettuce, and grilled asparagus, red & yellow bell pepper, and zucchini.

Great Add-On: Grilled diced chicken, shaved parmesan cheese, or more veggies (eggplant would be a great one!)

Taco Salad

Ingredients: Shredded ice burg lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheese, green onions, black beans, black olives, crushed tortilla chips, and salsa as the dressing.

Great Add-On: Ground beef, steak, or chicken & avocado

Cajun Chicken Spinach Salad

Ingredients: Spinach, cajun spiced pan seared chicken breast, black beans, and diced tomatoes.

Great Add-On: Roasted or grilled corn

All American Garden Salad

Ingredients: Ice burg lettuce mix, cucumbers, radishes, red bell pepper, and tomatoes (all sliced thin), and croutons.

Great Add-On: Shredded cheese, egg, & bacon bits

6 Weeks

Wednesday I had my 6 week postpartum appointment. It went well, incision healed perfectly, uterus is back to normal, I have lost all but 5 pounds of my pregnancy weight (note: not IF weight, just the weight I gained while I was PG. Still very far from my goal), and best of all....I have been released from all restrictions! That means back to the gym and back in the sack if ya know what I mean ; ) So I jumped right back in the saddle and headed to the gym the next morning and went for my first PP brazilian wax that afternoon. Yes, I am a brave woman. But she was very careful around my incision and I trust her, I mean this woman has seen more of my vag than even I have over the last 5 years.

My first PP workout went great! Mentally I still feel capable of jumping back into my old routine, and I had to keep reminding myself that I did just have a c-section and need to take it sloooow. So that's what I did and it felt GREAT to get my heart pumping and feel the burn again! I biked 5 miles and did some shoulder/back weights. So now I can really focus on getting back into pre-pregnancy shape.

Miss M turned 6 weeks old on Thursday and boy has she grown like a little weed the last 2 weeks it seems!!

-She started wearing size 1 diapers
-Most of her NB cloths are getting too small : (
-She started really smiling, and we LOVE it! So so cute, still haven't been able to capture it with the camera yet...stay tuned for that!
-She rolled over from tummy to back the other day and I was shocked, totally wasn't expecting that one!
-She has more awake time which is fun.
-She is starting to babble and make more vocal noises, I love hearing her "talk" : )

Also, I have been working on putting her to sleep in her pnp awake and having her fall asleep on her own and so far its working out great. The last 3 nights I feed her, cuddle her, lay her down awake but drowsy, turn on her vibration and sound machine (she's sleeping in her newborn napper of her pnp), give her her binky, and within 15 min. or so she's asleep. And sleep she does for 7-8 hours. I dont expect to go this well all the time, but little lady is doing fabulous in the sleep department so far!

Operation Get Skinny

Anyone that knows me knows that I take my appearance, diet and fitness pretty seriously! So the moment I popped out miss M Operation Get Skinny was officially ON!

I gained 20-25 pounds while going through fertility treatments (damn hormones!), then around 30 while pregnant. So that left me with a total of around 55 pounds of excess poundage to lose. On someone who is only 5'1 and normally weighs 108-110, that is A LOT of weight! I'm not worried though because 1.) I have lost a lot of weight before (after Kay) and 2.) I know how dedicated I am to my weight loss. Like I said, I was on a diet the moment after Miss M was born. I haven't wavered, nor will I until I reach my goal. Plus putting out such strong statements on this blog has got to hold me accountable right? : ) I surely don't want to look like an ass....and a fat ass at that!

I cant workout out for 3 more weeks, so in the mean time I have been keeping a very close eye on my diet. I have been following my own weight loss essentials (read about them here), and really watching my portions and carbs since I cant be active right now. Once I can work out again I will increase my caloric intake to adjust to my new activity level, but for now dieting (and no, the word diet does not hold a negative condensation for me) is all I can do.

I have already lost around 25 pounds, which leaves me with about 30 more to lose. I will be updating with my progress periodically. I can do this, and so can you for any of my readers who are trying to lose weight!

and remember my friends...

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"

Weight Loss & Smoking Update

First lets start off with the smoking. I haven't a cig today and I am doing pretty good. I am having some seriously bouts of agitation, but I bought some nicorette gum that is really helping take the edge off!! I can do this!! Before I quit I was kinda worried that I would gain weight, especially since I just worked my ass off to loose my extra weight. Well today, so far so good hunger wise. I WILL NOT replace cigarettes with food or snacking, I have worked too hard. So hopefully the following days are like today diet wise, no different than normal. Overall its been a tough day so far, but I will get through it. Thats one good thing about me, when I want something NOTHING stands in my way! I am a pretty motivated person. I have warned everyone to bare with me for these first couple days though.

Now onto the weight loss......

I DID IT! I reached my goal weight of 108 pounds!! I lost a total of 14 pounds in the last 2(ish) months!! I feel great, and my body looks the way I am used to it looking...slim and toned! I stuck to my diet (except my 1 cheat meal a week), went to the gym 5-6 days a week, and I accomplished my goal!! Now I am thinking that I want to get down to 105 pounds. That is my all time dream weight, and since I am only 3 pounds away, why not? I want to be in the BEST shape of my life before my next pregnancy (if that ever happens) so I can continue to workout and eat right while I am PG. So I think I will drop the 3 pounds, and then maintain by loosening up on my diet, but continuing to workout. If I workout 5-6 days a week I can eat what ever I want and not gain weight, but I wont loose weight either I will just maintain which is good for me : )

YIPPEEEE! SO many positive changes in my life. I am quitting smoking, I have lost weight, I eat healthier and almost all organic, and my DH and I are finally getting somewhere on this house with the city. Now if we could just get PG life would be perfect!

3% and 2 More Pounds

I checked my body fat about a month ago it was 20.1 or 3 or something like that. That's not bad at all! It is considered between excellent and good. I checked my body fat today and 17.2% baby! WOOOHOOOO I lost 3% of my body fat and I dropped 2 more pounds. So now I am 10.5-111 pounds. I walked out of the gym today feeling SO happy! It totally made my day and shows that all my hard work is paying off. I knew I lost more weight because all my shorts/pants are getting pretty loose, but to see the number made me happy!!

Only a few more pounds to go and then I will just maintain.

Hey...It's my blog I am allowed to be a attention whore right?