Fell off it again..

I fell off the healthy wagon again..  right into a big pile of mini chocolate cream pies and cookies.  With a month of virtual school under our belt you would think I was in a schedule that would leave some time for me.  This is so far from the truth.

There have been nights I fall into bed struggling to stay awake long enough to have a conversation about our day with my husband.   Sure, I could get up extra early in the morning and sneak in my own workout, but with a huge sleep debt it's a mountain I choose not to climb every morning.  Bad choice.. I know.
How do I get myself out of this chunky rut I am digging for myself?   Stuffing my face with sweets and not working them off.. not even attempting to.  With Magnus now a year old I can no longer call the extra baggage baby weight.. unless it's a food baby I'm talking about.

Even though I am over being sick with a nasty case of Sinusitis paired with the lovely ear aches to keep you awake all night, I will be honest and say my bike hasn't left the garage in months.

Time to make a health promise to myself.  No more 380 calorie mini pies. They are really not as good as pictured and you would rather wear your goal jeans again.  No more snacking after 7pm, because those snack are never a healthy choice.  If I feel hungry between meals I'm going to try drinking water first.

Ditching the Dead Weight

Now that my adorable little man is 6 weeks old, I have finally been cleared to workout again.  I can finally get back into shape.  Yes, I know round is a shape.  Just not the one I want to be.  Five pregnancies were not nice to my body.  As well as the non stop eating that I gave in to.  I am at the heaviest I have ever been and it doesn't feel good to me.  I want to feel attractive again. No matter how much my husband tells me he would find me attractive no matter my weight still doesn't make me want to toss in the towel.  i want to feel sexy in my skin.

My starting weight is 197 pounds. Yes, I just announced my weight on the internet. What am I thinking?! I have a long way to go to get to my goal weight of 135 pounds. I am starting out slow with Wii Fit plus workouts to build strength.  I am aiming to start the 30 day shred next week.

Adding exercise is not the only changes I plan to make. I am cutting back on sugar. (not out just down)  No snacking after 9 pm and upping my water intake. No crazy pills or teas for me I am breastfeeding my son.  which burns an average 500 calories a day Just healthy eating and exercise.

Even with the holidays quickly approaching I will not allow a weightloss sabotage.  I will stay strong and get thin. not scary thin but a lot less fluffy

Those goal jeans are still sitting in my closet and I will get them on again.

GOAL!... kinda

Today is my birthday (Happy Birthday to me!!) and the date I gave myself to fit into the jeans I had ordered off EBay in with a big bunch of jeans for my older girls. I tried them on in dismay months ago unable to button them.  No pictures were taken, I was too horrified at the extra "fluff" hanging out making it so I couldn't button my jeans, forget about zipping them fully.

That day I vowed to whip my ass into shape.  Yes, I know round is A Shape but I want to be in a healthy, sexier shape.  After 2 trips through the 30 day shred (not fully completed one of those times)  I have noticed changes.  I definitely feel a change in my ability to keep up with my energetic children.  I will continue to have that evil woman Jillian Michaels kick my ass and keep me motivated to keep kicking back.  I haven't been the only one enjoying the changes in my body.  My husband has noticed the changes in places I couldn't see without a mirror or a silly dance.

With a family history heavy in heart disease and diabetes I didn't want my life to be affected so negatively by my weight.  I started out this weight loss journey at a size 16 (and getting disturbingly tight)  When I woke up this morning I was apprehensive that I would even fit in the jeans.  My thoughts were filled with a replay of my fall off the healthy wagon recently and straight into a big pile of cookies and sweets.  I had stayed and wallowed a while in those sweets and my lack of weight loss results recently shows it.

This morning I just stood there glaring at those jeans for a good five minutes before attempting to plunge in.  I was pleasantly surprised it only required a small wiggle to get them up over my overly ample hips, no full blown hopping or dancing around needed.  ::mini victory dance::   As I buttoned them and slid the zipper up into place I almost began to cry.  They actually fit. I did it, kinda.  Sure I do have a mini muffin top. In all fairness it's more like a corn bread muffin top and no longer a Starbucks mega muffin top.

Pardon the bragging post but I am very proud of myself for achieving my goal (kinda) and during the holiday season no less. (the season of weakness for me)   I wont be stopping here though.  I'll stop wanting to lose weight once my Wii fit stops calling me fat or groaning when I step on it.  That would be around 30 more lbs to lose.  OK so it doesn't straight out call me fat but I don't like the weigh in and watching my Mii plump up to match my plumper proportions.

What is one of your favorite exercise routines to use?  Healthy snack ideas?  My favorite craving buster is any bar of really good dark chocolate.  Dark Chocolate has been proven to be an appetite suppressant.  Even stranger you don't even have to eat it. Smelling the dark chocolate is not enough for me though.  I prefer ingesting my chocolate to just smelling it.  My willpower isn't strong enough to bring chocolate so close to my mouth and not sample even just a small morsel.

30 Day Shred Redux

That's right you read that right, I'm starting over on the 30 day shred. The results I was getting were just too impressive not to fight through it again. I only made it just surpassed the halfway point before I was sabotaged. I didn't even make it to the change-up into difficulty level three which has really bothered me.

As of today I am back on day 3 of the 30 day shred. I started back on level one of the three difficulty levels and I am so glad I did. Let me just say, I am really feeling it today. Yesterday, I caught myself at some time or another walking as if I were decrepit old woman. After going for a walk with my kids to the store my aching muscles felt so much better. They just needed a better cooldown than what it shown in the video, nothing over the top just a nice 15 minute walk.

Julian Michaels is still the same reincarnate of a medieval torturer that I remembered. Even though I've done these workouts before, it really was day 1 all over again. It's not that I lost the muscle tone just the muscle memory of the workouts. Don't get me wrong, I love doing the 30 day Shred. I love that Julian Michaels is not your average cookie cutter, annoyingly perky trainer gazing blankly at you from screen like most other workout videos you've seen in the past. She is one tough cookie. She doesn't try to cheer lead you through the workout, but instead pushes you with her no excuses attitude. At one point in workout level one she says, "I have 400 lb people who can do jumping jacks, so can you!" Just when you start to feel the burn she gets this demented look on her face like she will come through your TV screen if you even think about resting.

On days when I want to get in a little more exercise (which is crazy sounding within the first few days of each level of the 30DS) I do a few repetitions of V-ups with my exercise ball. To me exercise becomes an obsession, once I really get over the first shock to my body and into a good workout schedule. The endorphin rush from a great workout is very addictive.

Here is a video of a good example of V-ups

My belly may have been cute 7 to 8 months ago when it was round with my baby boy. Now that it is round from too many sweets it's not so adorable. So it's outta here!

I will be wearing those goal jeans for my birthday. That means less than three more months to go!

Weight Loss Sabotage

I was doing great on my workouts. Julian Michaels was thoroughly kicking my sorry hide into shape. A shape I was beginning to really enjoy seeing. Then it happened...

Aunt Flo finally reared her ugly head after 6 months of no Postpartum visits. She arrived with all the evil excess baggage of migraines, bloating, cramping, sleeplessness, mood swings and feeling perpetually tired. I really did try to stick with working out, but after the first day I thought I was going to need some sort of hospitalization just to recover.

Then once I finally got Aunt flo and all her extra baggage out, I got sick. Not just a little sick either, no.. I am an overachiever and get a lingering chest cold that made me want to drag myself to the doctors for. Which was understandable since I ended up having my first asthma attack in years, but thankfully we still keep a rescue inhaler for that type of emergency. I hate the doctors though, they always want to poke me with needles and rarely do they only stab me once. All that poking and prodding would be for nothing, because I am breast-feeding and couldn't take most medications to help ease any of the symptoms without affecting my milk supply or flat-out being dangerous for my son. A visit to the doctors would be pointless and just be atrocious on top of me already feeling miserable. Instead I drank my orange juice, stayed hydrated, and tried to take it easy.

Back to the weight-loss saboteur sidekick, my dear sweet loving husband who isn't the most helpful when trying to lose weight. Sure he is a great workout buddy, but when it comes to healthy snacking it's a disaster. During this past month he has brought home ice cream sandwiches for me. (He's Lactose intolerant so none of them are for him.) Sure, they are the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches but that is a slippery sugary slope for me. Then next it was the Twix ice cream bar and more ice cream sandwiches. Which turned into a daily iced coffee instead of it being a weekly treat. Sweets are my weakness. Maybe he's being sneaky and vindictive after I silently giggled at him for never again attempting the 30 day shred after that first workout. Nah, he's not that spiteful and he is enjoying the results of my workouts too.

So, back to the 30 day shred I go. Maybe I'll switch it up a few days with the Zumba workout my mother's group has talked about. Back to the grind! Those goal jeans have been taunting me from the bottom of my dresser. No more self sabotage.

I love you honey, but no more ice cream sandwiches to say you love me, a hug and the real words are better for my waistline.