Week Six

Three Words: Blizzard Number Two.

I hope that many of you who read this share in my misery. With the exception of yesterday, I have not driven my car in over a week. There are no sidewalks. The government was closed for a week. I'm not even going to mention the gym. Cabin fever. I know it's evil, hateful, face.

Sometimes you have a plan. And then sometimes Mother Nature, says OH HELL NO. And that's pretty much what happened. I have not been able to leave this tiny shoebox I live in for almost two weeks.

I

AM

LOSING

MY

MIND

So...about that diet. Ummmmmmmm, yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh.

Let's just say I haven't GAINED any weight which is a miracle in itself because the last time I made a grocery store run before the last storm, the only foods left were highly processed, refined, junk that I normally wouldn't feed my dog...but you gotta do what you gotta do, right? And what can I say? My kid LOVES hot dogs...even if they are full of lips and butt holes and nitrites.

So, the spouse is back to work today. The gym has reopened. And I am once again ready to do this. You know, you fall off and you get back on. That's what determination is about. NOT GIVING UP...even when you fail...again. And again. (annnnnd according to Albert Einstein it could also be classified as insanity...but hey, I've never been fond of the term normal anyway)

I am supposed to go back to Indiana for two weeks in March and BY GOD, I WILL NOT show my face there the same size I was the last time I saw my family...so I'm about to get medieval on myself!

THE PLAN: Back to South Beach Phase 1 (but including select fruits) for two weeks....Dear God, pray for me because this is HARD! But I KNOW if I can just do this for two weeks I will lose about 10 lbs giving myself a kick start and some momentum at which point I will switch back to WW until I reach my final goal.

I ordered the Skechers Shape Ups Shoes on the recommendation of several people and as soon as we have sidewalks again, I'll be walking everywhere in those lovely duds (<-- Insert sarcasm there...they are NOT cute, but I would wear a cow's bladder and a monkey's paw as a hat right now if you told me it would help me reach my goal)

Today I go back to the gym and will try to go 5X a week doing as much as I can before Ari has a fit and they have to page me to rescue her from the childcare area.

Soooooo, that's my story. Here we go. Again. Wish me luck. Again.

Week Four......

Ummmmmm......

Let's call this week: FAIL

We can chalk it up to being snowed in and a spousal penchant for sweets (which I was unable to withstand)

Starting over. NOW.

On another note I am feeling physically MUCH healthier and I will tell you what I've been doing.

If you've talked to me personally any time in the last few months you'll know that I've been complaining of just not feeling good. Aches in my joints, depression, and just an overall sense of yuckiness.

Well, a few weeks ago I went to the doctor who wanted to put me on Zoloft for my problems which she attributed to the physical manifestations of depression. Do you know me? If so, I am just about the LEAST depressed person I know. But having two small kids and taking care of them practically by yourself is hard and has it's depressing moments. So I researched it and I just wasn't happy with what I read. I decided to research natural cures for depression and found that a lot of the symptoms can be caused by a lack of certain vitamins and minerals. I decided to try them ALL.

I did not, however, take a very scientific approach to this experiment and instead of beginning one supplement at a time and noting it's effects, I just dove in head first and started taking most of them at once. I began to feel better within a few days! Let me tell you, my aches are gone, I have more energy, my digestion (which, while sparing you the lovely details, has always been WHACK) is so much better, and even my skin also seems to have cleared up and is smoother.

Are you ready? Here we go (oh and I suppose this is where I insert a disclaimer stating that I am in no way a doctor, not do I play one on TV and that of course before beginning any of these things you should consult with your doctor ):

Prenatal Vitamin (once a day) Brand: Centrum

Magnesium 250mg (once a day)

Iron 325mg (once a day) Brand: An RX from the doc

B-complex (once a day in the AM. This pill is AWE-SOME) Brand: Solaray from Whole Food Market

Flax Oil 1000mg (3x a day with food) Brand: Origin organic

Calcium, VitaminD, Vitamin K 500mg (2x a day) Brand: Adora Milk Chocolates from Whole Food Market

Green Super Food 1 scoop (3x a day after meals) Brand: Amazing Grass

Fiber Smart 1 scoop (3x a day with meals I mix it with the green super food in water and shoot it...it IS gross, but it works) Brand: Renew Life

In addition to ALL that crazy stuff I have been using coconut oil (per the recommendation of a friend) as a lotion on everyone. It smells delicious!

While I realize that is a lot of pills, I feel that it is so worth it. I feel a thousand times better. I am not introducing foreign chemicals into my body that trick my brain into believing a falsehood about the chemicals it's producing. I feel I am simply giving my body what it was lacking.

In addition to all of that I feel that the foods we eat also have a large impact on how we feel. This past week I did terrible. And while I don't necessarily eat processed foods, I ate far too much starch and dairy. This week I am going to stick to the original WW plan while trying to eliminate all but one serving a day of dairy from my diet.

Wish me luck! Again.

Week Three......

Wow.

It's been ANOTHER week.

The time seems to be flying by.

This was another hard week for me. I have reached a point with my body that it fights me to shed every ounce. I think it's because I'm breastfeeding and my body is the type that likes to keep a layer of cushion on. Either way, I would get up every morning and weight myself and become so discouraged because I felt like here I am following a regimen that I've seen others have great success with and I'm BARELY losing anything.

Couple that with the fact that every time I try to go to the gym and put my girls in the kids room, I get paged about twenty minutes later to come and get Ari who is screaming BLOODY MURDER. So, I managed to get two thirty minute workouts done at the gym this week (they were INTENSE though). I also got a bicycle trailer to pull my kids (I like to call it a mini rickshaw) and managed to bike about 15 miles total this week too.

Saturday evening I had eaten my allotted points for the day and then did a bad thing. I had a big bowl of Raisin Bran. It. Was. delicious. But not delicious to gain THREE pounds over! I know it can be water weight and other factors, I KNOW. But still. I was SO discouraged. I said EFF IT and ate more pizza than I care to admit to last night. And I felt like even more of a loser. But went to bed with the mentality that tomorrow was a new day and a new week and I would start fresh. And LO AND BEHOLD I LOST three pounds by this morning! I have no idea how that worked but I'm all cool with it.

So, I'm back on track today with the diet. getting ready to head to the gym and make the most of the fifteen or twenty minutes I get there. I'm praying that she gets better and gradually I can have an hour or so there.

I have to remind myself that this is a gradual process and just take one day, one meal at a time and do the best I can.

I have begun to add supplements to my diet and feel a noticeable change in my overall happiness and feeling of well being. They are: Magnesium, Fish Oils, Flax Oils, extra Iron, vitamin D, B complex, and take two glasses of diluted Apple Cider Vinegar daily.

Week three, here it is:

WEIGHT LOST WEEK THREE: .5lbs (Notice that that is POINT 5 lbs)

GRAND TOTAL: 5lbs

Week Two

Well, it's been two weeks since I started this journey. I've come to stop looking at the big picture and take one day at a time. I tell myself, let's just get through this day, and then we'll focus on tomorrow. And it's working!

I remember when I had Ellie, my mom kind of laughed one day as she said, "Well that's the last hot meal you'll ever get." And I think as mother's of small children, it's easy to form the habit of wolfing down your food in order to be able to eat it before someone needs something. At least I know that's a habit I had formed. So this past week I have really focused on savoring each bite for its flavors and textures instead of simply shoveling food into my mouth to achieve a sense of fullness.

This week brought with it some nice days outside and I took advantage of them with my new bicycle trailer. And NO, I did not spend that much money on it. I found it on craigslist. Because we have had two rounds of colds in this house, I haven't been able to get to the gym. So, I've just tried to incorporate as much activity into my life as possible. Like walking to the store, taking a bike ride, and parking far away at the stores. Everyone's well now so this week I plan to go to three classes at the gym. I'm also riding the bike with the kids in tow to the library for our weekly visit. It's about a 6 mile round trip.

It hasn't all been easy though. I am still breastfeeding Ari, and contrary to what everyone told me (EH-HEM MOTHER!!!) the weight doesn't just fall off of me and I can NOT just eat whatever I want. It's just the opposite in fact and my body seems to ( at this point) cling to every last ounce for dear life. I also at times experience those ravenous pangs of hunger like nothing I have ever felt before. So, I try to combat them with a piece of fruit and tell myself to just keep on keepin on and it will gradually get better.

This week I had my husband home for three days and while it was such a gift because while he's in this residency at the Naval Hospital we usually NEVER see him, it was also at times very difficult. Because this man has the metabolism of a Kenyan marathon runner, I have to really refrain from snacking with him ( he's ALWAYS eating) and not to snack on what he's eating.

I learned, a little too late, to look up the points of something BEFORE I eat it. Who would've thought that a quarter of a Red Baron cheese pizza is 9 points! IT WAS LIKE THE SIZE OF MY HAND! After I had eaten it and found out how many points it was, I started to think about all the other things I could have chosen for that many points that would have filled me up much more. Like SOUP.

Well, that was this week. Here we go again. One day at a time.

WEIGHT LOST WEEK TWO: 2.5lbs

GRAND TOTAL: 4.5 lbs

Oh...PS, I also taped a picture of Kim Kardashian in a bikini to my fridge so I have to look at her every time I want to get something out. Needless to say, my Husband doesn't mind that at all. ;)

Week One...

WHEW!

I'm sure glad that's over!

The past week was very difficult for me at times. I've had to deal with two sick kids, cabin fever, and a budgeting SNAFU (my fault...paid the wrong bills at the wrong time) that caused me to play "What Meals Can I Make Out of What's In the Pantry".

Side note: THIS site has an excellent tool at the top where you can enter ingredients you have on hand and it searches it's database of , like, a KA-TRILLION recipes and gives you a list of all the ones you can make with what you have. That saved my ample butt this week.

OK, back to the week. As I said before I started out doing the South Beach Diet. This diet has worked well for me in the past when I had only one child. I've never been successful on it with two kids. I was trying so hard to follow it and pretty much had to make myself a separate meal every time I made food for the rest of the family. That really blew....along with taking up precious time I didn't have, it was torturous to watch everyone eat really good stuff while I had vegetables and chicken.

So sometime Tuesday morning I had a mild breakdown over both of my children screaming inconsolably for what seemed like FOREVER for who knows what reason. And, like alot of people do, I found comfort in the bottom of a pint of Hagen Daaz. And NO, I did not eat the WHOLE pint....just most of it.

That was the point that I decided that I needed to switch gears for my own sanity and the well being of everyone in the line of my sugar deprived firing range. I switched over completely to Weight Watchers, which is the system I used to lose 50 pounds after Ellie was born.

LET ME TELL YOU:

I am a much happier person because I did this.

I only have to make one meal at dinner. I don't feel deprived. AND....I even had pizza Friday night with my family.

Oh, and I went to the gym once and did a spin class. IT NEARLY KILLED ME. But I felt pretty good afterward. I couldn't go for my other scheduled times because the kids were sick, but hopefully next week will be better.

That's my story for the first week....STAY TUNED

WEIGHT LOST WEEK ONE: 2LBS

GRAND TOTAL: 2LBS

Introductions Are in Order

Hi.

My name's Jill.

Some of you may know me from my other blog, here.

In the past three years I have had two beautiful children, gained and lost substantial amounts of weight due to these pregnancies and the chaotic life that ensued.

I used to work out a lot.

I used to look good in shorts.

I used to be able to fit into all my jeans from high school.

Those things haven't been true for a while now.

But, I'm about to change all of that.

I am reclaiming my body once again.

I want not only to look good in my shorts again, but I want to FEEL good. The kind of feeling good that comes from being healthy, and taking care of my body like I used to.

It's hard to find the time when you have two or MORE (GASP!) small children for yourself. But you know what I decided? How can I be of service to anyone else, if I forsake taking care of myself?

And so I begin what may be a long and painful (at least at first) journey. The purpose of this blog is to encourage, inspire, motivate, and just share sympathy with the other women who are embarking on this journey with me. There are about 10 of us so far (HI LADIES!) and our ranks are growing daily. Some of us are embarking on this journey with different goals and different strategies, but we all have a common goal. To look and feel better.

To begin, I'll tell you where I'm at and my goals...and I'm even going to post some UNFLATTERING PHOTOS of myself! DUN DUN DUN!

I have given myself until June first to reach my goals.

Currently, I'm 5'8" and a (tight) size 10 (NO, I am not giving you my exact weight)

I would like to lose 25# and fit comfortably back into my size 6 clothes.

I am doing the South Beach diet and my goal is to go to the gym 5X a week.

For the first month I am just going to do one group fitness class a week.

I'm going to update this blog once a week (or more if I need to) with my progress or pitfalls. Please feel free to comment who you are (if you want) and where you're at and where you'd like to be. Or remain a quiet spectator to my journey. Whatever you do, wish me luck!

NOTE: I am having computer issues, so those unflattering photos will have to wait until my tech (Husband) gets home.