Five on Friday

{one}

I have to brag on myself for just a second...We had a weight loss challenge this past month at work and I won!!  I am so proud of myself.  I had big plans to workout a lot to lose the weight, but that didn't happen as much as I would have liked.  I did really watch what I ate and I kept walking.  I lost 9 lbs in the month of June.  I have lost 51 lbs since giving birth 4 1/2 months ago!  (I gained 57 lbs while pregnant)  I signed up for the weight loss challenge at work this month too!

{two}

I really want to get back in to baking more.  I always love baking and I don't know why I don't do it more often?! I know my husband would enjoy it if I would make more sweet treats, but it may not help me get back to pre-baby weight!  I am thinking about baking these good looking cupcakes this weekend.

{three}

My husband and I have been talking more about getting a jogging stroller.  He runs a lot more than I do, but I have high hopes of starting to run/jog soon.  It's going to take me a little bit to get to where I can run for any significant length of time, but I have to start somewhere.  There are tons of options for strollers out there, and it is very overwhelming!  Any suggestions??

{four}

I could very easily become addicted to online shopping!  It is so convenient to sit on my comfy couch and buy all the things my heart desires without fighting the crowds and driving all over town, not to mention our city has terrible shopping options.  Lately (this week-yikes!) I have ordered myself a pair of shorts, a dress, and a shirt.  I have ordered a Christmas dress (already?! I know!!), pair of shorts, and more bows for Lillian.  My husband doesn't seem too surprised these days when a package arrives at the door.

{five}

There are still a few things I have left to do in Lillian's nursery.  I am not sure why I have not done them yet because they are simple tasks.  I need to buy and hang 2 white shelves.  I need to order a cover for her changing pad (a blanket is our cover right now).  I also want to use some of the left over fabric from her bedding to make this.  Maybe this weekend I will have the motivation to get these things done.  Once I am finished with those things, I will post a picture or two of her room and how it was transformed into a nursery.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! TGIF!

Baby Weight

What happened to becoming "one hot momma"?  I believe that was just wishful thinking!  I told Jon that I was tired of continuing to wear maternity clothes or baggy clothes so he told me to go shopping to get some new clothes that fit.  Off I went this evening to find some cute new clothes to make me feel good when I would get dressed.  Epic fail!  I didn't like anything I tried on!  I started with some skinny jeans.  I should have known simply by the name of them that they weren't for me!  OMG-talk about awkward looking! They are so cute on everyone else, just not this girl!  I then tried on some shorts and "flowy" shirts.  I looked like a tree stump.  Needless to say it was so depressing to go shopping today!  I am still about 18 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight and trying on clothes made that very clear!  My wedding band and engagement ring still do not fit! I ended up buying a fake ring to wear until I am able to fit in the real deal.   I know that I had a baby not even 3 months ago, but if I don't start doing something I will never lose this excess weight.  I need someone to drag my butt to the gym, or around the block, or somewhere that involves exercise.  I am not a "dieter."  In fact, I LOVE to eat and when I try to diet I feel as though I am starving myself.  I don't mind exercising, I actually enjoy it.  I just need to find time and make myself do it!  Who wants to be my free personal trainer? :)

One Hot Momma

One hot momma is what I would like to be!  haha!  Maybe not "hot" but I definitely want to get back to the weight I was before Miss Lillian came into our lives.  In fact, I would like to get back to what I looked like when I got married.

**GOAL**

I gained a total of 57 pounds throughout the 10 months of pregnancy.  I lost 34 in the first 2 weeks!  Majority of that was fluid!  I was SO puffy at the end of the pregnancy and for the first week after I had her.  I still have 23 pounds to go to get back to where I started, but I would really like to lose 25-30 more pounds.  

Breastfeeding has helped me to watch what I eat, somewhat.  I still have a ridiculous sweet tooth.  It is nothing for me to eat a bowl of ice cream every night!  This can't keep happening if I want to lose 25-30 more pounds! I don't want to really limit my calories too much just yet because I am breastfeeding, but I need to eat healthier.  I have been eating a bowl of cereal or oatmeal for breakfast.  For lunch it is usually left overs or a turkey sandwich.  For dinner I have been eating whatever is available.  We were very fortunate to have people bring us dinner for the first 2 weeks we were home.  This past week we have ordered out a lot and I have cooked just a couple of times.   I did sit down and make out our menu for this next week, so I have plans to cook more.   Unfortunately I couldn't resist buying Easter candy the other day, so that has been a weakness too.  I need to dig deep down inside and find the will power to say no to all these sweets.  Today I did skip on the chocolate Easter eggs and ate some strawberries instead.  It wasn't what I wanted, but it worked for the time being.  

I have been trying to walk as often as possible.  I do wish our neighborhood was bigger so that it was worth it to walk around.  We have to load up the car with the stroller and all the goods, including the baby, and head to the park if I want to get a good walk in.  It ends up working out though, because it is nice to get out of the house, especially on a beautiful day!  Eventually I will get to working on my "core."  It is nice and flabby now that it has stretched to infinity and beyond.  I read that you are not supposed to start doing abdominal exercises until 6-8 weeks postpartum.  I only had to read that once to convince myself that I need to wait! :)  I have my 6 week check up the second week in April so at that time I will ask the doc what I can do and what she suggests I do.  Once I get the clear from my doctor to get a move on I plan to really get after it with this weight loss plan. One work out I did get the other day was toting sweet girl around in her car seat!  OMG!  I should have some toned arms in no time, well at least my right arm since that's the one I always use to carry her.  

For now I suppose I will do my best to eat right and continue to walk...

7 Day Cabbage Soup Detox Diet Review

As you may remember from this post, two girls from work, and I decided to try out a 7 day cabbage soup detox diet that I found online.  My husband, Jon, also joined in on the fun.  Jon and I are the only two that stuck it out until the end, and I have to brag and say that I am the only one that did not cheat all seven days!  The two websites where I obtained all the information for the diet plan are My 7 Day Diet and Cabbage Soup Diet.  The week plan goes a little something like this...

this was my reminder card and motivation throughout the week

(the links will take you to the individual day recap)

Day One- Fruit (no bananas) and Wonder Soup

Day Two- Vegetables (no beans, peas or corn) and Wonder Soup...on this day you can also have 1 baked potato with a small amount of butter

Day Three- Fruits (no bananas),Vegetables (no potato, beans, peas, or corn) and Wonder Soup

Day Four- Bananas (up to 8), Skim Milk, and Wonder Soup

Day Five- Protein (lean meat), Tomatoes (6-8 fresh) and Wonder Soup

Day Six- Protein (lean meat), Vegetables (no potato, beans, peas, or corn) and Wonder Soup

Day Seven- Fruits (no bananas), Vegetables (no potato, beans, or corn), Juice, and Wonder Soup

The beginning of this diet was very difficult, I'm not going to lie.  I had to constantly remind myself that it's only seven days and to take it one day at a time.  I drank only water all week, except day seven I had juice.  That was a big deal for me!  I love sweet tea!  I also usually drink coffee or coke at work, mainly for the caffeine, to keep me going.  I am proud to say I have been caffeine free now for a whole week!  I am going to do my best to continue to not drink so much caffeine.  I now realize I can make it through these working nights without it, so I have to stay strong and not give in to the desire.  One good thing about this diet, was that it made me cook and think about what I was cooking and how to cook it.  You can only use very little olive oil.  I feel like I became pretty creative and experimented some with spices to try to help ease the pain of limited choices.  (Although I feel that Jon will say I only used black pepper to season everything.)  I do plan to continue to branch out and make healthier and fresh vegetables more often now.  Most of the things I read online said you would lose anywhere from 5-10 pounds within the week.  One website even said 17 pounds (not sure that's too healthy)!  Of course I weighed myself at the beginning, throughout, and at the end.  I ended up losing 6.8 lbs total. I am glad I did the diet and stuck with it to the end without cheating.  I proved to myself that I can in fact stick with eating healthy if I will just make the effort to do so.  I still have a little more weight that I want to lose, but I feel this diet definitely gave me the kick start I wanted to get the ball rolling!

Lifestyle Change

DIET...it is most definitely a four letter word, if you know what I mean! Something always motivates me to start a new diet, but never fails, I do not stick with it.  I'm not good at counting calories or skipping sweets or following the diets where you can have this food on a certain day and this food on a different day.  It just doesn't work for me.   I do like to see immediate results when I do something, and dieting never has an immediate result, so that must be why I get discouraged.  I don't feel that I am obese or even that overweight, but I am definitely out of shape.  My clothes don't fit quite like I want them to.  I wasn't super comfortable in my bathing suit at the beach.  I would like to wear one size smaller. You get the picture.   And I will be the first to admit that I eat terrible.  I am infamous for picking up Wendy's breakfast on my way home after work (and of course I don't get fruit or anything remotely healthy).  My biggest weakness is ice cream.  I can't say no to a juicy cheeseburger or a piece of fried chicken! But something has got to give!  I have been having terrible acid reflux.  I eat Tums like they are candy.  I took a round of Prilosec (which I must say did help!)  But the reflux is still happening and it is causing awful nausea.  I should probably get it checked out by a specialist, but the nurse in me wants to try to fix it myself before having to pay an outrageous bill (because the insurance I have now is pretty terrible).   I have decided that instead of a diet I need a lifestyle change.   I need to be more conscious of what I eat and how often I eat.  I love vegetables, so I need to eat more of them!  From this day on I am making a promise to myself to make all efforts to eat right and exercise.  Speaking of exercise...that word is like a foreign language to me these days.  I have a membership at a gym that I can guarantee you has not been put to use in at least 10 months.  I find it very easy to make excuses not to exercise, and being tired is the #1 excuse.  Well heck, maybe if I exercised more I would have more energy and then I wouldn't be so tired all the time. Much easier said than done.  Along with my eating lifestyle change, I have decided to make exercise part of the lifestyle change as well.  Jon has agreed to start the Couch the 5K workout program with me (I always need a side-kick, someone to motivate me and make me go!)  So this Couch to 5K program lasts for 9 weeks.  You work out 3 days a week for 30 minutes each day.  I have downloaded the app, and I'm all geared up to get started.  I have heard great reviews so hopefully by September 24th I'll be able to run a 5K without any problem!  Maybe if I'm lucky I can run in the Race for the Cure 5K on September 17th and actually run the whole time!  Wish me luck!  This lifestyle change can only be a good thing...

Here are a few quotes I read that I had to share...


"People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas. "


I've decided that perhaps I'm bulimic and just keep forgetting to purge.  ~Paula Poundstone


"That's not sweat, it's my body crying!"




Here goes nothing...