3 Months

Three months ago today I gave birth to my baby girl and started my weight loss journey. I walked into the hospital at 232 lbs. After baby and other water weight left I was at about 215 lbs. My pre-pregnancy weight was actually 217, so I was happy I didn't go overboard. Now I am about a pound away from getting back into Onederland. Very excited. I always told myself I wouldn't let myself go past 200, but I just didn't feel like I had control over it and now I do!

I have a long way to go (about 70lbs), but I feel strong and able to do it! Even if I mess up one day or one meal, I get right back at it, because this is a lifestyle change not just a diet. Somedays I won't have a deficit and somedays I will have a big one. It all works out. Slow and steady wins the race.

Haha, a lot of cliches we've all heard before, but really once it makes sense, it just clicks.

Bum Bum No Go

Bum Bum attempt #2. Slightly better than 1st. I made it through with a lot of modifications. The problem is I now dread this video. It is not fun. There are plenty of videos that keep me working out but this is not one of them! So I decided to put BBL away for now and continue with Chalene Extreme. Someday if I get bored or when I have lost a bunch of weight I will try again, but for now I don't want it to mess up my exercise plan. This may be perfect for when I'm 130 lbs and have a flat butt. I would rather run than do Bum Bum and that is saying a lot.

The weight started falling off again. 4 lbs in 2 days. Not sure how or why this happened. I am completely lost  on this whole weight loss thing. I don't lose any for 3 weeks then bam 4 lbs. Yes, I focused on fewer processed food and sugars but I still ate them and I still ate around 2000 calories.

The first day I had a really high calorie burn and had about 1700 deficit that day. The 2nd day I didn't exercise, so my calorie burn was low. I even had a little binge last night of dark chocolate and fritos. So why did I still lose weight?

I am concerned that I lost my milk supply and not fat because my baby was up all night crying and eating. Today I am going to focus on drinking enough water to get my milk supply back up. I will see tomorrow if this makes me gain weight back.

Update: I think some of the weight was milk because today I am back up to 101.6. I was very drained and crabby yesterday, so I knew that I needed more calories and more sleep. It was not a good day even though I should have been excited to lose weight.

Cardio Axe

I just finished Brazilian Butt Lift Cardio Axe and wanted to write a review quick.

At first I thought, this is terrible, I can't get these moves, but that is how I feel when I first do any exercise and after a few workouts I get the hang of it and end up loving it. No one gets Zumba on the first try so don't expect to get this right away. Cardio Axe is a fun dance workout with 4 combos that are taught separately and then combined. My biggest complaint right now is that they don't do much of a cool down or any stretching.

I am happy with this workout. It is 30 minutes long so perfect to add to another workout. I will be doing High and Tight next.

I am 50/50 on recommending BBL right now. I personally find the guy a little annoying but some people love him. Denise Austin is way more annoying. The workouts are difficult and fast, so I will have to give it more time before I can give it a good review. I just wanted to give my first impressions right now.

Brazilian Butt Lift- Bum Bum

Here is a quick review of the video Bum Bum from BBL.

Holy wow! That video is rough. I have done all of Chalene Johnson's videos from Turbo Jam, Chalene Extreme and Turbo Fire, plus many, many other workout videos and I have rarely had to quit because of the intensity. I was done after 15 minutes. Bum Bum is really high pace and switches quickly from exercise to exercise with not even the slightest break in between. I was dripping sweat quicker then Zumba or even a HIIT exercise. 

Most of the moves require balance and strength. I don't want to discourage anyone by saying it is too tough. I think it is a workout to build up to. It is nice to know it will fit my purposes for a long time and I will not outgrow it as I get stronger. 

I will update as I complete more of the workouts.

I am trying to combine them with Chalene Extreme and C25K but I don't want to get burned out. My exercise limit is about 60-90 minutes a day. 

Day 1- Chalene Push 1, Bum Bum and C25K - total 85 minutes if I can finish BumBum

Day 2- Cardio Axe and High & Tight- 65 minutes

Day 3- Chalene Push 2, Bum Bum, C25K- 90 minutes

Day 4- Turbo Jam Cardio or Zumba- 50 minutes

Day 5- Push 3, High & Tight, C25K- 90 minutes

Day 6- Bum Bum, Tummy Tuck- 55 minutes

Day 7- Rest

I need a little visual motivation to keep up with this workout:

Skinny Bitch posted this on Facebook today. It sums up how I have been feeling lately. I feel like there is a secret but I know I just need to stop eating junk.


Special treat to come today or tomorrow. I will be taking my before pictures and I think I am brave enough to post them.

Green Bean Casserole

Favorite Recipe Makeovers

One of my favorite dishes especially for the holidays is Green Bean Casserole. My recipe is simple so it will be easy to adjust. I normally just mix home canned green beans with cream of mushroom soup and bake. Here is the adjusted version to get rid of the processed cream of mushroom.

Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients:
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 Tb onions, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tb butter
2-3 Tb flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup light cream or 1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
Melt butter in frying pan. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until onions are soft.
Mix in 2 Tb flour. Slowly add Chicken broth.
Mix together cream/ milk with 1 Tb flour and seasonings then add to the soup. Heat until thickened while stirring constantly.

Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-cream-of-mushroom-soup-264191?oc=linkback

Put drained green beans in casserole dish, home grown or unsalted canned would be best but any kind works. I use 2 cans or 1 quart. Pour soup over top and cook until heated.

The original recipe calls for French's fried onions on top, but obviously that is not healthy. If you prefer a crunch in your casserole I would suggest either frying your own onion by lightly battering them and frying in butter or olive oil.  You could also try a corn flake topping. I will cook mine without and save the hassle. This will be served at our upcoming Thanksgiving meal along with our homegrown chickens and a mashed cauliflower recipe instead of potatoes. I will post that one later.

I hate healthy food.

I have been a picky eater since I was little. I usually overlook all the recipes in Fitness magazine or other healthy recipes because there is always one strange ingredient that ruins it for me. I am making a list of acceptable and unacceptable foods, to help with my new healthy diet. Some of these foods like butter and cheese may seem unhealthy to some but my goal is to eliminate unnatural processed foods. I know I can't do it all at once so this is my baby step. My baby step to clean eating.

Natural foods I like:

Butter

Cheese

Doctored up eggs

Milk

Onion, garlic, peppers

Nuts

Peanut butter

Bananas

Most fruits in moderation

Granola

Oats

Tomatos

Lettuce

Meat

Yogurt

Potatos and corn in moderation.

Meal Ideas:

Scrambled eggs with ham, cheese and onion

Occasional breakfast muffin with egg, ham and cheese

Chicken breast salad or wrap

Banana with peanut butter and raisins

Yogurt with granola

Lunch wrap

Salad with garlic oil dressing

Parmesan chicken

Cheesy broccoli

Broccolli and chicken or ham casserole

Mashed cauliflower casserole

Spinach lasagna rolls

Cheeseburger, no bread or thin bun with lettuce and tomato

Pork battered in egg, milk and bread crumbs, fried in butter or olive oil

Popcorn with real butter

Homemade icecream? Or frozen yogurt

Some definite NO foods:

Cookies

Pancakes

Cake

Donuts

Chips

Ice cream

Granola bars or meal replacement

Lean cuisine or other types

Frozen pizza or any frozen food beside meat

No foods that claim low fat or diet because they are unnatural.

I have not decided yet on coffee. I believe coffee is a natural product but the cream I put in it is not. I will start with eliminating sugar from it.

Trying something different.

I was so excited when I got this BodyBugg and instantly I lost 5 lbs, but sitting I should not be at a plateau right now. I need to try something different. I have been sitting here wasting half my day, AGAIN, on researching diets and losing weight. My new conclusion:

No sugar!

No chocolate!

No processed foods!

Limit Carbs.

Eat protein, fats and veggies.

Yes, I have read this before, but I have also read that just creating a deficit calories will work, but it isn't for me and I am way to frustrated. 

The scale is back to 204.6 today. I could just scream! Of course after seeing that number I got upset and ate dessert for breakfast, because why does it matter?!?

One search tells me I may not be eating enough calories and another search says that I am eating too many. I just can't get a straight answer. 

With the BodyBugg I am consistently burning about 2800 calories a day plus I add 450 calories for breastfeeding a 3 month old. I eat about 2300 calories a day, so a deficit of 950 calories. Some sources say my deficit is too much, some say I am not figuring my calories correctly. Another website said I should eat 1200 calories a day (plus 500 for breastfeeding), so 1700 calories. That seems low to me, but maybe?

I actually struggle to eat a healthy 2300 calories. I usually have an extra 500 calories a day that ends up being used on junk food. So I guess it is obvious I just don't want to admit it. NO MORE JUNK FOOD. If I have extra calories either don't use them or snack on unprocessed food like cheese, nuts, popcorn, fruit, and veggies. 

Also no more meal replacement bar for breakfast. I was noticing some nasty smells coming from my body and I believe it came from that.

Another Thought:

In the past I was able to drop weight consistently but when I started exercising I hit a plateau. Is that because I wasn't eating enough? I question if I should stop exercising, but it makes me feel good so I don't want to. Am I really not eating enough, or just not eating the right things? 

If I eat 1700 calories of healthy food, can I still lose weight? 

I guess all I can do is experiment with my diet and see what works.

I'll take it!

I am itching to get past 204 lbs since I have been stuck there for 2 weeks! This morning I got on the scale and it said 203.8. I'll take it. Yes, it is one sip of water away from 204 but I still got to see the 3 on there. Lets hope it sticks for tomorrow. 

I start Push Phase today. I am excited to see those workouts. I don't think I have ever made it this far in the program before.

Let's see some more effort!

Burn Phase Complete!

I finished the Burn phase of Chalene Extreme today. Wahoo! It took a little longer than the calendar but when I skipped days I picked right back up where I had left off, not skipping any workouts.

My results:
9/26/12                              11/10/12
Weight- 210.5                      204.2                   down 6.3lbs in 6.5 weeks
Stomach- 48.5"                       46                        down 2.5"
Waist-39.5"                            35.5                      down 4"
Hips- 46.5"                             45                         down 1.5"
Thigh- 26"                               25.5                      down .5"
Bicep- 13"                              12.5                      down ,5"


I lost the most in my waist (bottom of ribcage). I am whittling my waist away :) I don't count my breasts right now because I am breastfeeding and they change depending on milk supply.

I'm excited and frustrated at the same time. The weight was falling off and it slowed right down to a stop. I am averaging a pound a week even though I was hoping for 2 lbs a week. I keep telling myself progress is better than nothing or gaining.

Also I am excited to add to my schedule. On weight training days I am going to also do C25K. It is designed for 20 minutes 3 days a week so it fits perfectly with Chalene Extreme. On weight days I have to add more because I don't reach my calorie burn doing just that. Overall I need to hit 50-60 minutes of exercise everyday to reach at least 2650 calorie burn.

I have done C25K in the past and do like it even though I really don't care for running. With my ginormous kooboba's there is just too much bouncing. With small intervals it seems manageable.

My hubby also gave me permission to get a boob reduction next year. I have wanted one since 8th grade! That is motivation to get to my goal weight because I will not get one unless I have lost all the weight and know what they will look like. I would hate to get one then lose a bunch of weight and have size A cups. I know I at least want D or DD's because I will feel a little lost and insecure without them.

The Program:

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

Courtesy of thehappyrock.com

This is great. Sometimes all you need is a little exercise to make you want more exercise.

Discouraged

I'm getting pretty frustrated because although I hit 203.2 pounds early this week since then I am stuck at 204. I have been that weight for almost 2 weeks now. Yes I messed up on Halloween but I have had some pretty good deficits that should have me at 203 or 202 by now. Why am I stuck? It is way too early to hit a plateau.

I checked my measurements and I am down a little there.

I really need to adjust my eating plan. I use all my extra calories for cookies or sweets. I did better when I gave all that up. So as hard as that is for me I really want to lose this weight.

I have also been incredibly crabby with the kids lately. After I get frustrated with them I end up searching the kitchen for chocolate than stuffing my face with it. Stress leads to eating. I  have found my source, but how do I remove stress from my life? Especially when it comes from my 4 children. I don't have anyone to take them once in awhile so I never get a break. I try to put my frustration into exercising, but I can't always do that if the baby needs attention.

I had a new idea of buying a Keurig and getting addicted to coffee because caffeine makes me happy. I know this is a bad idea though. Caffeine leads to ups and downs, I also don't want to be addicted to anything. The best idea is a well rounded diet. I need to start planning my meals out for the entire week. Today is shopping day so I will do that before I leave.

Maybe my calories are off somewhere and I am eating more than I think. Or maybe I am eating too much processed food or sugar.

Time for an adjustment, not a time for giving up!

Back on!

After falling off the wagon last week I watched the scale climb back to 207. When I told my husband I would start again on Monday, he asked, "Why not today?" Which got me thinking, "Why not?" Why do I have to wait for the beginning of the week to start over. Every DAY is a new start not every WEEK. In fact every MEAL is a new start.

I started over on Sunday and the weight came off quickly that I had gained because it was really just water weight. I could tell I was bloated, but if I hadn't restarted that weight would have stuck around. Tuesday morning I am down to 203.2. An extra pound from last week. Sometimes I think it is a good thing to fall off the wagon and get back on. It helped my body burn some more fat. It is not a good thing if you can't get back on the wagon.

My mind and body needed a few days rest and now I am back at it again. I just can't decide whether to do Zumba or Cardio Party today.

Oh, I also ordered a new video set called Brazilian Butt Lift. Can't wait to try it out! Plus my inlaws gave us P90X that was burnt in the fire but still usable. I'm not sure I am up to that yet, but I will be soon. Can you tell I'm a BeachBody junky? I love Beach Body and I am not even a coach.

If you haven't tried BeachBody programs and you are interested, I strongly suggest purchasing from Amazon or Ebay. BeachBody.com has terrible reviews, bad customer service and they try to add on subscriptions to your order for pills or shakes. The videos are awesome but you don't need that extra crap to lose weight.


Check out this site: fitsugar for extra tips on losing weight.

I fell off the wagon!

I was being so good too. Halloween candy did me in. I ate a bunch while trick or treating (at least 10 or 15 pieces). Then the next day I felt like crap! Headache, tired, crabby and lazy. What do I do? I eat more because I'm crabby! Wow, pretty dumb. So today I feel the same way. It makes me want to give up completely. I haven't exercised and I'm eating junk food because that is all my body is asking for.

What did I do to myself????

I have to come up with a game plan or I will get stuck in this rut.

1st: No exercise until Monday. The goal is to focus on my eating and not be overwhelmed by both.
2nd: Absolutely no chocolate! Candy has been put in cold car far away from my eyes.
3rd: Go grocery shopping and set up meal plans for the week so I know what to eat without thinking about it.

Monday restart exercise plan with strength training and some cardio.

Happy Halloween!

Today begins the start of the holiday season. First comes the bags and bags of candy. With three kids trick or treating there will be plenty of candy for weeks to come and candy is definitely my weakness. My solution? Put all the good stuff outside in a vehicle. Far enough away that I have to burn calories to get to it.

Next comes Thanksgiving with the high calorie meals and leftovers. Shortly after the Christmas season with parties, cookies and candies galore.

The eating is not the only problem of holidays. A lot of it is not being able to exercise because we are too busy visiting or with company. After getting out of a routine it is difficult to get back in it. My solution? Do it anyway!!! I may not like doing videos with company here but I can get on the treadmill or play outside. With company around I have more people to watch the baby and I need to take advantage of that.

My gameplan today is to do double time on exercising, cardio and strength today. I already messed up eating banana bread for breakfast (warning very high calorie!). Now I have 1150 calories left for lunch, dinner and candy. I usually have at least 1500. I know I will ant candy so I need to plan for that and burn extra calories.

I was feeling down this morning because my weight loss slowed down so I looked at my journal. I have lost 1 pound since last Wednesday, but my calorie deficit since then is 3600, so 1 pound. It is my own fault because the program is still working. I can not expect to lose a pound every other day, or I will get disappointed and quit. Lesson learned! Keep trucking on and slowly but surely it will come off.

Weekend

The weekend was a success and a failure. I was not able to stay away from Mountain Dew. I had some late nights and early mornings and ended up drinking two. The good news is that I kept my activity up and burned a lot of calories and also did not overeat on junk food. I was down about 1 pound this morning to 204.2.

Now I must get myself back on my exercise routine. This has been difficult in the past after taking more than one day off. I will do it this time!!

In other news, my in-laws house burnt down on Saturday. Crazy to see how fast everything can be gone. I'm not sure how this is going to affect our lives yet, but time will tell. Everyone was fine and even the dog got out, but they lost just about everything.

I used the weekend to try out a new Pinterest recipe called crack bread I have been wanting to try, but didn't want to make at home and eat too much. This was perfect I got to try a few bites and give the rest away. I probably shouldn't post this here, but this is what I made:



Yes, that is bacon and cheese in bread. Not only that it is drizzled with a stick of butter mixed with ranch dressing. Can't get much worse than that! It was delicious but to me it wasn't good enough to justify the calories. I would rather spend those calories on a dessert!

Sluggish

Right now I am dripping in sweat because I just finished my workout, but I am feeling very sluggish. I didn't give it my all and I didn't even start until 4pm because I wanted a nap instead. This is unusual. Ever since I have started I have had consistent energy and didn't feel the need to nap.

Am I burning out?

Or am I eating crappy food?

I think it is #2. I have had a lot of extra calories to eat and I have been filling them with junk food like ice cream and nutty bars. This needs to stop!

I have my first hurtle this weekend. I am going downstate to visit family and will not be able to exercise. I am hoping that I will be more active throughout the day and will still meet my goal. Another problem is the local store has awesome pizza and that is usually what we eat all weekend. If it's not pizza it's their homemade hotdogs. I also don't get much sleep and end up drinking Mountain Dew for energy.

My goal:
Eat healthy this weekend to keep energy up instead of junky food and Mountain Dew.

Will update Monday.

I am consistently losing about half a pound a day. My deficit is only 1000-1200 calories a day. I am completely surprised by the food I am eating and the weight loss. I highly recommend the Body Bugg to everyone. I have dieted for years and never put calories burned with calories ate. I knew that is how it worked but without the Body Bugg you can't get a good estimate of how many calories you burn a day so that you can eat properly.

My average burn is about 2800 calories a day. To do this I either exercise for an hour or be steadily doing something all day like shopping or cleaning. It is not hard to reach that. I also figure I am burning 450 calories a day breastfeeding, but I may be off on that. With that I am eating about 2200 calories a day. Which is quite a bit of food!

Breakfast- English muffin with eggs, cheese and ham and a Life choice meal replacement bar.
Lunch- Wrap with ham, cheese, light ranch, lettuce and tomato with grapes or ff pringles
Dinner-  Whatever I cook for the family that contains about 600-700 calories.
Snacks- I have about 500 calories throughout the day for snack. I eat crackers and laughing cow cheese, pudding packs, string cheese, fruit, cookies, ice cream just about anything I am craving.

When I stop breastfeeding I will have to stop my snacks or increase my activity. I could also decrease my dinner or make it healthier to cut calories.

I burn about 500 calories doing either Zumba or Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3. If that's not enough I jump on the treadmill and burn 100 calories in 15 minutes. Crazy but I burn as many calories breastfeeding in a day as one intense hour of exercise!

Vacation

What could be more motivating than a beach vacation? A wedding or class reunion? The last time I lost over 20 lbs was for my wedding in 2008. Today I am booking a family vacation in the Florida Keys at the beginning of December. I am also now freaking out about how much weight I can lose before then. I want to do this slow and healthy but I also want to look cute on vacation.

If I can steadily lose 2-2.5 pounds a week I can be down to 188 lbs. That will have to be good enough. I wish I could lose more but it wouldn't be healthy. I at least have the motivation to get toned and lose weight every week.

I won't be purchasing a bikini this year, but maybe next year! Better get to my exercising today.

Egg Muffin

I have been teaching myself to eat healthier breakfasts. I have never liked cereal in the morning so I am always trying to find other breakfast foods. I like bagels and cream cheese but those are fattening and don't last long. Also not a big fan of oatmeal but maybe someday I will find a way to like it, I know how healthy it is.

I was resorting to just eating freezer breakfast sandwiches, which are small for how many calories are in them, but they were easy and quick.

Today I made an Egg Muffin that was really quite good and took just as long as microwaving a frozen sandwich.

Breakfast Egg Muffin

Toast an english muffin while cooking 1/4 cup egg substitute. 

Place fat free american cheese on muffin, then egg. 

Heat ham slice in egg pan and place on sandwich. 

That's it! It was just as good as frozen, plus bigger and more filling! This has about 234 calories.

GOOD NEWS!
My calorie deficit so far is 5728 and I was down another pound today! 206.4. This is the first time seeing that number in a very long time. I'm creeping toward the 190's.

I actually lost weight after going out to eat, that is amazing for me.

Eating out on a Diet

Another non scale victory! We went out to eat today and I ate fewer calories today then the rest of the week! That is huge for me. I usually use going out as an excuse to eat whatever and return to my diet the next day, but I don't want to ruin all my hard work, so I went online before we left and picked out what I would eat in order to stay within calories. I was surprised by how many calories are in dishes that I would have eaten before.

We went to Applebee's and I ordered the garlic sirloin with herb potatoes and some nasty mushroom and spinach thing that I did not eat, but did try. I also had enough for a bowl of french onion soup. My favorite! So I did feel like I splurged when I really didn't.

The problem with this plan is that I was not flexible. I only picked out a dish at Applebee's so that was the only place we could go. I will have to learn more choices at different places, because we do tend to eat out a lot on the spur of the moment.

I had a little problem though. I have always loved desserts and rarely order them because I am stuffed by that time. I also don't  think I have ever seen my husband order a dessert even when I do, he just doesn't like desserts. For some reason he decides we should get a dessert this time. Why??? As soon as I get serious about dieting I feel like he sabotages it with throwing my cravings in front of me. We had a small argument and I told him that I would go sit in the car if he insisted on it. I just do not feel strong enough to sit and watch everyone else eating my favorite desserts in front of me.

We went grocery shopping after dinner and again he wants to stock up on snack food aka junk food. I asked him to please not buy anything chocolate because I can't resist it. He really wanted mint oreo's, but I explained while he is fine eating 3 or 4 a night I will sit and eat half the box in a day. I just need more time to be strong enough to resist them. He doesn't understand. He ended up not buying the oreo's but did buy a case of Mountain Dew, another huge downfall for me. Whenever I get crabby or feel down I know that a Mountain Dew will completely change my mood, so I go for one. I forget how horrible I feel after the effects leave even days later when my headache kicks in.

Here is my motivation for the day:

Success!

This week I have successfully stuck with having a deficit of at least 500 calories a day even through my sons birthday party. I actually had a deficit of 1500 that day because I burned so many just cleaning the house and I had cake!

I have been keeping a spreadsheet of calories burned and ate to see if this is really working. Today the spreadsheet says I have burned an extra 4026 calories in the last 4 days and guess what?!? I am down about 1-1.5 lbs this morning. It really could not work any better than that. This is complete proof to me that 3500 calories= 1 lb and all I have to do is create a deficit. It seems so simple to me now.

Forget that screwy points system that makes it seem like magic. Counting calories really is that simple. Even though many of my calories were cake or cookies this week and not a lot of fruits and vegetables I still am losing weight!

Honestly I have also been sweating my butt off for at least an hour a day to make sure I reach my calorie goal, but it is making me feel so much better. When I walk into the store or school I can feel my new muscles giving me extra power and a little bounce in my step. I tried on my jeans I want to fit in and they are still very tight but I can feel my body changing and I know I will fit in them soon.

Another positive I have noticed is that I have steady energy all day. I admit I am lazy in the morning and slow to start, but throughout the day and right up until I fall asleep, I have this steady energy. No highs and lows like I used to have.

I am feeling a little burnt out today and don't want to exercise but these changes I notice are pushing me to do it anyway. I feel like I have devoted a lot of time to food and exercise and I just want to do some crafting, but I must remind myself that my body is the important project right now!




I DID START! 6 MONTHS FROM NOW I WILL FEEL AND LOOK AWESOME!

P.S. 6 months from now is April, so by next summer I will actually look good in shorts. 50 lbs in 6 months achievable?  I THINK SO!

I turn 28 in 7 months and I want to feel young and fit, not old and fat!

Weight Watchers Points Plus

Does not work for me!

I mentioned yesterday that I have been gaining and losing the same pound over and over, so I did a little research on the Points Plus plan and found out that this is happening to a LOT of people. It seems the new system allows too many points compared to the old one. I really liked the old system, I lost weight consistently and it kept me motivated. I was excited to start WW again. On the old system I lost 4 lbs the first week then 1-2 every week after as long as I stuck to points even when I ate a little too much I still lost. Now I haven't seen any results. Maybe one pound in 5 weeks. Very frustrating!

So I found a new and FREE app on my ipad called MyFitnessPal. It is a calorie counter so it will work with my BodyBugg. What is really cool about it besides that it is free is that you can scan barcodes from food instead of imputing everything. I think this would be easier on a phone but is still doable with the ipad. You can also create recipes like WW. That is important to me because I cook for a family of 6 and need to be able to know what a portion is. I do not want to have to cook a separate meal for myself.

I am still playing with the program, but I think this plan is going to work better for me this time. The BodyBugg I wear everyday tells me how many calories I burn in a day, so it makes sense to count the calories I eat not points.

My goal is still to eat 2000 calories, burn 2650 and breastfeed for 400. For a deficit of about 1000 calories a day. I have been able to reach my goal of 2650 everyday except one since I started and most days I go 200-300 over my target, so I may have to increase my intake a little so my body will get what it needs.

What concerns me is that the BodyBugg is only 90% accurate. That means if I actually only burn 90% of 2650 or 2385 calories then I am actually overeating 300 calories. This still means a weight loss of 1.8 pounds a week though. Going over my target a little everyday should get me closer to 2 lbs a week.

I can't wait to see how week 1 goes! The scale already said 207.5 today!

A little motivation for the day:

Retaining Water from Exercise

I get very discouraged when I do not see any weight loss especially after staying within my food points and giving my all exercising. Today I weighed in at the same as last week. I feel like I have been gaining and losing the same pound over and over for 5 weeks now! I am just not budging from the area of 210.

I am trying to pinpoint the problem so that I don't get discouraged this time. Yesterday morning I weighed (yes I weigh in everyday) at 208.4 and then I did some weight lifting in the Chalene Extreme burn series and today weighed in at 211 at 7am and 209.5 at 10am. I am working on this but I currently get up at 7am and get my 2nd grader off to school then go back to bed.

This is my first week doing weightlifting. I woke up pretty sore today and my research this morning says that sore muscles=water retention. As much as 2-4lbs! It also appears that this weight gain can stick for about 2 weeks before showing a decrease.

Everyone knows exercise is important to weight loss and looking good, but it is discouraging that I can lose weight faster without it.

I have been closely monitoring my measurements though and I have lost 1.5" in my waist in the last 5 days and .5" in my stomach area. So this is improvement! This is enough to keep me going and motivated and hopefully the scale will creep downward next week instead of staying steady. I am so eager to break 200 lbs!

Here are some websites that encouraged me to keep exercising even though I am retaining water and not losing weight.

Livestrong
Average people weighing in on water retention
Retain water after exercise

Overall the best way to fix this water retention is to drink more water! I have decided to create a checklist and put it next to the sink so that I can check off each time I refill. I have not been keeping track just felt like I was drinking enough.

Some people have found that buying one huge water bottle and marking lines on it with times of the day next to them to make sure you are drinking enough throughout the day. However I prefer fresh cold water from the tap so I just need a checklist.
Idea and picture from Fitness and Frozen Grapes

I did it!

I pushed through, completed my exercise and I honestly feel better. I'm ready to clean up the house now. I'm so glad I didn't take a nap. Plus exercise gets rid of my appetite, so I haven't ate either. Wahoo for a dieting victory!

Another victory, I burned over 400 calories doing Cardio Party 3. About 10 calories a minute instead of the sedentary 1.3 I would have gotten taking a nap.

I've lost a little motivation today. I'm tired and worn out. When I'm tired, I'm crabby. When I'm crabby I eat more junk. More junk food leads to being more tired and not wanting to exercise.

The kids are driving me crazy! My 3 and 5 year old have been sick all week and the infant has reached a colicky phase. Between the whining and crying I'm ready to flip out. This is NOT helping my diet.

I want to take a nap but I slept until 10:30 already today. Why am I needing so much sleep? I think I'm going to bed just to get away from the nagging. The weather has been cold and rainy so the kids have been stuck inside.

This too shall pass!

I may be down and hating life right now but I know this will pass and I will regret it if I fall off the wagon because of a few bad days. So I'm going to pick myself back up and Just Do It Already!

After baby falls asleep I'm putting in Turbo Jam Cardio Party and no more eating until dinner!

Good news scale said 208.6 today. I think I was retaining water from the 5 meat stuffed pizza I ate and it is finally changing.

Exercise Plan

Month 1- Burn Circuit

Chalene Extreme and Turbo Jam Hybrid

Monday- Burn 1 and Ab Jam or Burner
Tuesday- Cardio Party 1, 2 or 3
Wednesday- Burn 2 and Ab Jam
Thursday- Cardio Party 1, 2 or 3
Friday- Burn 3 and Ab Jam
Saturday- Burn Intervals and Treadmill
Sunday- Rest day and Treadmill

According to Body Bugg:
Burn 2650 calories a day
Burn 400 calories breastfeeding
Eat 2000 calories or 46 pts.

Deficit of 1000 calories a day and 2 lbs a week.

I am NOT a Beachbody coach, as so many are nowadays, but if you are interested I will give you my honest opinion of different programs. I am not paid by anyone so I can give honest unbiased opinions. I currently recommend getting a BodyBugg and trying Turbo Jam because they are motivating and fun!

Here it goes!

I am starting my weight loss journey! I have the motivation, but not just that I have the drive, the want, the need to be skinny and fit. I AM READY!

I am the type of person to read as much as I can about weight loss and try all the gimmicks to stay motivated. Keep a journal is also a good motivational tool. A journal online for others to read is even better!

So here we go. I gave birth on August 20th 2012. When I went in the hospital I weighed 234 lbs! (My husband does not even know that). After the weight of the pregnancy was gone I was left with 210 lbs. I immediately started dieting and even signed up for Weight Watchers while still in the hospital. I have been following it pretty well since birth but I am on a renewed vigilance.

Last week a received a wonderful gadget called the Body Bugg which I will do a review of later. For now I will just say that it has helped push me to burn enough calories everyday.

I also began exercising more hardcore since I just got my clear from the Dr. a week ago. I am a HUGE fan of Chalene Johnson and have 3 of her programs: Turbo Jam, Turbo Fire and Chalene Extreme. I am currently combining schedules of Turbo Fire and Chalene Extreme. I am thinking of switching Turbo Fire for Turbo Jam because I like it better but that is because it is easier, so I may just push myself harder. I just don't want to give up because I push myself too far.

I also have a little hidden secret to help with my weight loss... I am breastfeeding. So I get to eat an extra 300 or 400 calories a day and still lose weight. Wahoo!

I have lost weight after other pregnancies but never 80 lbs and I haven't weighed less than 140 lbs since before puberty. I see women doing it and I want to do it too! I know I can!

Stats:
Height: 5'4"
Start Weight: 210 lbs
Goal Weight: 130 lbs
Lose 80 lbs!!!!