Day 24 - Rewards

I've decided on my reward for sticking with my diet for a month - a massage!!! My family bought me a gift certificate for a massage for my birthday but I never got around to using it. Now I'm going to let myself use it and enjoy it to the fullest! And I may have to make this my reward each month. I just LOVE massages. And with all of this working out AND coughing, my body aches and could use some relief!

Last night was nowhere near the silent night I hoped for. Although, it wasn't all my coughs fault. The baby was up whining for much of the night. While I was up with her, I tended to cough more. So much that my back hurts from all of the coughing I did. I was exhausted all day today and ended up going to the doctor. I'm now on some antibiotics and she gave me some cough meds with coedine. Hopefully I can kick this cough now.

One great thing about the doctor - I wasn't afraid to get on the scale! And their scale matched mine - 173 lbs! I'm hoping the next time I have to go to the doctor, I'll be at my goal! :)

Day 23 - Sick of coughing

Three weeks in and I have lost 8 lbs!! I know its not a HUGE amount and its not even really noticeable by looking at me, but its PROGRESS! And after sitting at the same exact weight for 7 months, it means a lot. I also like that its a "healthy" weight loss. No extreme measures or fad diets here, just true slimming!

I'm still battling my cold. I'm now in the coughing phase. And let me tell you, there is TONS of coughing. I stuck to my plan and did the treadmill on Saturday and my first Zumba class on Monday night. Zumba does seem to be a lot of fun and its a lot easier to keep up with than that aerobics class was. My only problem with both exercise days was that as I got deeper into the exercise, my coughing got worse. I had to skip Yogalates last night due to a scheduling issue between my hubby and me and had planned on doing Zumba tonight, but my cough JUST started to improve around lunchtime. I want to get over this cough so I decided to take the night off from aerobic activity to see if I can manage one night of sleep without having several coughing fits. So, I still have to exercise one more day before Saturday in order to keep to my "workout 3 times per week" plan.

Yesterday, I attended a meeting that my co-worker put on at lunch. It was an informative meeting about Team In Training which is a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society program that trains you to run/walk marathons or half-marathons while raising money to fight blood cancers. I've participated in two half marathons in the past and happen to work with the run coach for the Lansing area. Sure enough, I went to the meeting, heard all of the excitement from the staff person and the coach and signed up right then and there. I'll be participating in the Bayshore Half Marathon in Traverse City on Memorial Day weekend. At this point, I'm happy to just walk the race, but I DO plan to stick to training and if I get the desire to run at all, I'm not against trying to run. But right now, sitting here coughing as I type, I'm leaning towards walking.

Dieting is still my primary success. I've been able to keep my calorie intake low and my foods are healthy for the most part. I've been craving lots of vegetables lately, which is GREAT, but we don't have as many as I want in the house, so I need to make sure to include plenty on our weekend grocery trip. I'm still working on getting all of my water each day. But I've been doing an excellent job of not drinking any pop (even diet). I've only had 2 diet sodas since the start of my diet. That's pretty impressive for me.

Watching Biggest Loser this week, I heard them talking about The Biggest Loser Slimcoach. Apparently its a tiny device where you enter in the number of calories you want to burn for the day. Then you wear this device and it tracks the number of calories you burn and tells you when you've met your goal. I'm not sure how well this thing works, but it sounds interesting. I may have to look into it a bit more. Here is the link to see it on the Best Buy website: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/The+Biggest+Loser%26%23174%3B+-+SLIMCOACH%26%23153%3B+-+Black/4526204.p?id=1218480946018&skuId=4526204#tabbed-customerreviews

YUP! She's got a Sweaty Band on!

One product I DO know about is SWEATY BANDS! I saw them in a fitness magazine and decided to buy one at Playmakers (in Okemos, MI). These are workout head bands for ladies that actually stay put. They really DON'T SLIP! I was skeptical at first since their tag line is "OMG...they don't slip!" but I bit the bullet, shelled out the $$ (they are definitely more expensive than a cheap Goody hair band) and tried one during my Zumba class. I LOVE IT! Its cute AND it keeps my shorter hair out of my face while I work out! I highly suggest them to all women! http://sweatybands.com/




So enough advertising from me. I swear, no one is paying me. Although, maybe they should - it would help out with my fundraising! ;) Speaking of which, here is the link to my fundraising page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/mi/bayshr12/hslawinski Help me fight blood cancers AND get in shape! :)

I'm off to drink some Robutussin and pray for a silent night.

Heather

Day 19 - Burned out

Cue the whistling sound of a bomb dropping to earth and exploding with a loud BOOM! That's me and my exercise routine. I expected WAY too much of myself and I burned myself out. Many of you saw it coming. I think I even saw it coming, but I tried to ignore it. So, now I'm dusting myself off and trying again.

Maintaining the workout schedule I set for myself was unrealistic FOR ME. I haven't worked out in a very long time, and despite the fact that I THINK of myself as a decent athlete (albeit clumsy), I am currently out of shape. So, I have a new "plan" that really isn't much of a plan at all. I'm going to workout 3 days a week for the next couple of weeks. That is my only plan. I know one of the days will be my Yogalates class. Other than that, its a little bit up in the air. I have a treadmill that I plan to get on tomorrow morning. I also just found out about drop-in Zumba classes in my area. I'm going to try my first class on Monday. After that, I'll just feel out what works and go from there.

I originally felt like a failure falling off of the workout wagon. But then a friend (thanks again, Diana) sent me a link to this blog: http://blackgirlsguidetoweightloss.com/work-it-out/qa-wednesday-avoiding-workout-burnout/ This girl isn't an expert, but she IS experienced. And she is right. It helped hearing from someone else that burnout happens, but that shouldn't keep you from getting back up and doing it again until it sticks. 

As for dieting, I've actually been doing very well up until this week. Then Tuesday, I came down with a cold. When I am sick, I am miserable and doing math is difficult for my muddled brain, so counting calories throughout the entire day is virtually impossible. Plus, I figure I need all the calories I can get to fight off whatever bug I have. So, I took a break.

 

Today, I'm back on the diet. I must say, while being a little tedious, writing down every single thing I put in my mouth has been helpful. I use the MyFitnessPal app on my iPad. It keeps me accountable - it makes it much hard to just take a bite of some "bad-for-you food". Because if I take that bite, it may only take a second to eat it, but then I have to go to my iPad, look up the item, add it to my tracker and subtract those calories from the rest of my day. Pain in the butt. I highly suggest it to everyone.

I hope this hiccup in my plan doesn't discourage any of you from continuing your resolutions. I may not have met my initial goals, but I will not allow this to derail me from my end goal of losing weight and getting in better shape by June! I can do this! And so can you!!!

Day 11 - I'm Effin' HUNGRY!

Not sure why I was so "comfortable" yesterday and freakin' starving today. My day started out fine. But then I got to work and someone had brought in pound cake fresh and still warm from the oven. I had to try it so I calculated the calories and ate it. I had to run an errand at lunch and came back with almost NO time for lunch before a meeting. So I had to scrap my planned meal and eat a turkey and cheese sandwich from the snack stand in my building. About an hour into the meeting, my stomach started growling and ever since then, I've felt like I want to and need to eat an entire pizza or something. And I've had plenty of water and it ain't cuttin' it.

I WANT FOOD!!!!! I wonder how bad it would be if I ate my dinner now while my kids watched and starved. Hmm.... It might be better than me eating an entire bag of pretzels "to tide me over". ARGH!!!!

Day Ten - Getting Comfortable

When I first started this diet and working exercise into my life I felt really anxious most of the time. Unsure if I was eating the right thing, totally lost about where to start with excercise, and incredibly uncomfortable with how I looked. Over the past 10 days, I've started to feel a little bit more comfortable about the path I'm going down. My stomach appears to have shrunk a little bit because I'm not as hungry after eating my smaller meals. I also have learned that I feel much more satisfied eating proteins rather than carbs. I already knew this fact in my head, but I feel now I KNOW its the truth and if I need a snack, I turn to proteins first (banana with 1 or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is a good one). 

I've recently admitted to myself that I'm lactose-intolerant. Unfortunately that means SlimFast is a little more challenging for me. I can't just buy the canned shakes. I have to buy the powder and make sure I have Lactaid avaiable (apparently soy milk isn't intended to be a substitute for milk with SlimFast. I think the problem is you don't get enough of the right vitamins/nutrients). I've run out of Lactaid at work and haven't gotten a chance to replenish it. And while the snack stand at my work has canned SlimFast, I can't really buy those (unless I want to feel crummy the rest of the afternoon). So I've just been watching my calorie intake. I think it helps to mix things up too. Not only do I get some variety in the foods I eat, I also keep my body guessing by mixing up the calroie intake at each meal (rather than emach meal being 200 calories exactly).

I'm still working on my water intake, but I found a idea that seems to be helping. I've put a Post-It note with the word "WATER" in my cubicle at work. Its in an area that I often see throughout my day (over my phone on my calendar). My rule is everytime I look at the post-it, I need to take a drink of water. And not just a sip. This seems to be helping get a little more water in me. Although, it also makes me have to go to the bathroom more. :P

As for exercise, I feel like I'm ready to attempt an aerobics DVD at home. I've been going on the treadmill as my "aerobic excercise" to build up my stamina after my partially-failed attempt at my morning aerobics class. I think I'm ready to try and jump around (a very little bit) and try and follow a routine. The only problem now will be figuring out how to do it at my crazy home.... ;)  I do have other ideas to try for aerobic activity if the DVDs don't work out. The YMCA does have Zumba classes that I may try the next session they offer it. I also am considering doing a Couch to 5K program, where you train to RUN in a 5K. And there's always other aerobics classes.

I have really appreicated all of the support and encouragement I have received from everyone. All of the comments, suggestions and "You can do it!" chants have really motivated me to stick with this plan. I also am getting a surprising amount of motivation from Pinterest.com. If you don't know what Pinterest is, it is basically an online bulletin board where you post things you find on the internet that are cool. Many people use the site to post fitness or motivation items and just looking through them gives me hope and encouragement. I'm including a few below.

First week - complete!

Here I am a week after the start of my diet, watching my DVR of The Biggest Loser again. But this time, I'M 5 LBS LIGHTER!!! Yes, I know a lot of it is just water weight, but it still gives me hope I'm doing the right thing! So, I'm now at 176 lbs. 36 lbs to go.

Now that the work week has started again, I'm definitely back on track with my diet. I'm still drinking Slim Fast for meals sometimes, but if I don't have it available, I'm just working on counting my calories. I'm still not perfecting the water intake, but I'm doing better.

I decided to not continue with my morning aerobics class. Its just too much for me at this point. I figure I will workout on the treadmill and build my fitness up a bit more before committing to such a high intensity class. Last night, I did the treadmill for 45 minutes to replace the class I skipped in the morning. I find the treadmill more difficult than it was before my second pregnancy. I'm not totally sure why that is. I don't know if its because I'm heavier than I've ever been so its more work, or because I've just been sedentary for so long (in comparison, during my first pregnancy, I walked a half marathon), or maybe its my low calories aren't providing enough energy, or maybe its just in my head. Whatever it is, I'm trying to listen to my body while still pushing myself.

I had my yogalates class tonight. I LOVE it. I don't sweat during the class...well, not heavily. But I definitely feel the strength work and love the stretching. I also feel successful in the class because there are some things I can already do fairly well, and some things that I can already feel myself getting better at. Its rewarding. After I told Tim how much I enjoyed it he said I should focus on that and find more class/exercises like that. He thinks if I do something I love, I'll be more likely to continue and be successful. He may be right.

Time to get my sleep! Good night!

UPDATE: After I posted this post last night, I opened a funny card from my mom and had to post here. Apparently not everyone loves yoga:

Day Six - Cheating

Well, I've cheated on my rigid schedule of working out AND eating. Friday night after trying to convince myself to workout, I ended up NOT doing anything. I just rested. But, I did wake up on Saturday morning and walked briskedly for 30 minutes on the treadmill. Today (Sunday) I haven't done anything yet, but I'd like to get on the treadmill again and maybe do my strength training on my calendar too.

Yesterday I also had a special mommy/daughter day with my oldest daughter. Having a baby definitely changes the lives of the older children. I wanted to give my oldest a special day just for her and me. And I decided it would include food. And I planned on eating that food. We started at Tim Horton's (my daughter's favorite place for breakfast) and I got the Breakfast Wrap with ham. It wouldn't have been too terrible, except there is a creamy sauce on it that I did NOT need. Next time I will remember to ask for no sauce. We went to a museum and walked around and then went for a special lunch - we went to Melting Pot and had cheese and chocolate fondue! It was so yummy and I think my daughter had a lot of fun - especially with the chocolate. I didn't hold back at all eating there. I have a belief that if a young girl sees her mom dieting all of the time, she may instill that as a necessary part of life and will make being skinny more important than it should be. Therefore, I've resolved to not make a big deal of my dieting. I'm also willing to break the rules, especially when it comes to my kids. So cheese and chocolate it was! We ended up having a great day together and I think the extra calories were worth it.

This morning I started off in a bad mood (a particular time of the month is not helping the situation). Instead of a SlimFast shake, I opted for eggs with tortilla. I am suddenly in a much better mood. ;) So, in order to be a decent person, I can't starve myself. This is something I learned previously on a carb-free diet too. No carbs or calories = bitchy Heather.

So, I've veered from my plan, but I'm going to get right back on it today. I've decided (after hearing lots of feedback from people responding to my blogs) that I'm not going to be hard on myself if I have a misstep, need to take things slowly, or need to change my initial plans. As long as I'm working towards eating better and moving more, I'm going in the right direction.

Now...if I CONTINUE to blog about cheating the next few days, please feel free to get on my case and tell me to get back on it. Thanks! :)

Day Four - Things to work on

The big test is coming up – the weekend. This will be a different schedule than I’m used to when at work. Plus, there’s a bunch of food at home for me to snack on. I'm a little worried. Hopefully I’ll be able to control my impulse to eat because I’m bored or eat unhealthy snacks. I’m also going to work hard to keep up my workout plan. It’s Friday afternoon and I’m already wishing I didn’t have to workout tonight (20 mins of aerobics and then abs work scheduled). I really just want to go home and relax and do nothing. I’ve worked hard the last….3 days. I guess it hasn’t been much, has it. *sigh* Fine. I guess I haven’t earned a big break yet.

So far with my diet, I really haven’t been craving food. I’ve been satisfied for the most part. It’s been great. It may be because I’m so focused on my workout sessions that I’m too preoccupied to realize how little I’m eating. I have had 2 days where my calorie tracker told me I was eating too few calories. I know this is a problem. I know if I starve myself, it might make my diet work AGAINST me rather than with me. I’m trying to add more than I originally think I need to make sure I get enough. Who knew my problem would be too FEW calories?

My other problem is water. I know I should be drinking a ton of it and I have a bottle or glass around a lot, but I’m just not drinking it. I haven’t met my water goal once yet. When I was pregnant, for ultrasounds you had to drink a bunch of water in a short amount of time before going to make it easier to see the baby. I almost wonder if I need to do something like that – drink a bunch at a time – in order to get all of my “glasses” in. If you see me anytime soon, feel free to yell "WATER!" at me to remind me to drink it.

Just in case anyone is wondering what my workout plan is (since I keep referencing it), I've tried to insert my January calendar below. The basic idea comes from a Shape Magazine calendar. I just tweaked it a bit to fit in my aerobics and yogalates classes. The link is in my first blog post.

Day Three - Achy

(Did you know "achy" was a real word in the dictionary? I didn't!)

The soreness from my yogalates and aerobics has set in. I woke up this morning after a decent night of sleep but exhausted because my whole body ached. Nothing hurts so bad that I can't move thankfully, but crossing my legs in my normal contorted fashion was a little more challenging than normal today. I also noticed carrying my 7-month old in her infant carrier was very difficult. It was tough to lift in high enough to get it in the van.

I haven't made a final decision on whether or not I'll be returning to the Mix-It-Up Aerobics class. For those who asked, I DID modify most of the exercises to make it easier and I still couldn't get past half of the class. The next class isn't until Monday. I may not return this month and will instead do some exercise DVDs at home until I get a bit more fit. A number of people have suggested Zumba, The Firm and Jillian Michaels. And then there's always the treadmill thats in our mudroom at home. I do think its much safer to faint/puke at home than it is in public. ;)

Despite my soreness today, I still did my strength training this evening. It didn't take long at all, but I was still panting by the end of it. I ended up doing it in my baby's room! It was the largest open space with minimal interruptions. Although, Kaitlyn did join me for part of it. I also did work with a foam roller. OUCH! THAT was tough. Its supposed to help mobility and feel kinda like a massage. It did around my shoulders and my back, but it KILLED on my calves. Not sure I'll ever be able to do that movement correctly.

My diet is still going well. I added a few more calories compared to my first day so that I have more energy when I workout. I also realized SlimFast has a lot of sugar in it and I really enjoy Lean Cuisines, so I'm interchanging those meal items when it fits my mood. Either way, those both will keep me under my calorie limit (which is approx 1200 calories/day).

Many people have let me know that they are also working on losing weight or getting into shape right now. I think that's great! It seems to make it much easier when more than one person is tackling the same challenge. I am using an app on my iPad that also has a regular website. Its called My Fitness Pal.  http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ You record your daily food and physical activities and you can have "friends" on the site who can see some of your information and help to hold you accountable! So if anyone wants to join me on that site and work on these goals together, you can find me with the user name of heathermsu98. Let's do this together! :)

Day Two - First Setback

I've faced my first disappointment with my resolution and its only the 2nd day. UGH!

I went to my yogalates class last night and I enjoyed it. It was really easy on my body. But I didn't break a sweat, and I know in order to burn calories I need to start sweating. So, my Mix-It-Up Aerobics was this morning. The teacher explained that "mix-it-up" means that each class would be different. We were doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) today. It started off with a set of jumping jacks. Not good. Since having a baby (or two), jumping up and down is bad news for me. The only exercise I seem to get is in my gut while I try not to pee my pants. Not exactly the point of the exercise. The jumping continued too. Along with that we did arm work and other leg work. After a while I started to get pooped out (not literally). Almost like I had used up all of my energy and water and my body was kaput. I also felt like I was going to throw up. Since this was NOT an episode of The Biggest Loser, I figured I'd run to the bathroom and see if I felt better when I returned. I felt even worse when I came back. I was dizzy and was sure if I continued I'd throw up. I sat down and never really felt better so I didn't get back up. I had made it through only half of the class (30 mins or less). When I went to take a shower, I STILL felt like crap.

In my mind, I came up with many reasons why the class didn't work for me today: I didn't get much sleep thanks to the baby, I haven't been taking in many calories, I didn't drink enough water, I haven't exercised in about a year and a half. Overall, I think I bit off more than I could chew for my first steps. So, I am now reconsidering this Mix-It-Up class. It may be too high a level for me at this point. I mean...even the teacher of the class wasn't able to continually do the intervals. She was moaning and taking breaks saying she just couldn't get through it. And the amount of jumping? I'm gonna need Depends to continue the class. Maybe I need to trade out this class for something that will ease me into cardio-workouts. Maybe walking/running (on a treadmill because its just too cold for me out there).  I want to make sure I do SOMETHING and I don't want to hate that "something" because I want to continue exercising.

If anyone has any suggestions or feedback about my thoughts on replacing my current class with something a little easier (while still being cardio) let me know.

I haven't given up. I'm just need to reevaluate the plan I drew up.

Day One - Photos

This is really really hard for me to do, but I'm posting photos of me in my sports bra/tank and shorts. The only reason I feel like I can do this is because I KNOW I'm going to lose this extra weight. Since everyone may not want to see my body, I put the pics on a different site. Just click on this and you can see my phots. I'll add more as time goes on so you can see the differences.

Day One Photos: http://flickr.com/gp/heathermsu/QwQ9PN/

PS - currently watching The Biggest Loser (for the first time) for even MORE inspiration and motivation. :)

Day One - Giddy

I wanted to get a blog entry in today but with my yogalates class tonight, I don't think I'll have much time to sit down and type, so I'm doing it now. I apologize for the lack of captivating content.

Today I'm running on adrenaline. I'm so excited to get in shape and am incredibly eager to get going. Although, keep in mind, this is before any exercise has started. Ask me in a week how excited I am and I bet I'll have another answer.

I found a Shape magazine challenge that I've decided to do for my exercise. http://www.shape.com/fitness/training-plans/30-days-fitness Its a mix of cardio, strength training and yoga/pilates. It seems to hit every body area, which I really like since I don't just want to lose weight. I want to get toned too. The only bad part is I have to learn how to do each exercise. I also had to purchase some equipment since I don't own anything but a thick mat and hand weights. I have purchased a yoga mat, a kettlebell and a foam roller. I still need to get a medicine ball and tube things (have I really been out of the exercise-scene so long that I don't know about half of this equipment????). I've already paid for my yogalates class too. I BETTER stick with this resolution, otherwise I just wasted a bunch of money!

My big concern with all of this exercise is WHEN to fit it into my schedule. Having 2 kids and a job can make it a challenge to figure out when you can get to the gym or even get some time in a large room at home alone. My husband is great and takes the kids to school/daycare in the mornings which allows me to head to aerobics Monday and Wednesday mornings. But I enjoy giving my kids a kiss goodbye in the morning, so I don't think I can do all of my workouts in the morning. Also, in every article I've ever read about successfully losing weight, they mention you need plenty of sleep, so its not like I can stay up all hours to get my exercise in. I'm hopeful I can find some time at home to do my workouts after work. If not, I may have to start reserving some conference rooms at work to get my exercise in at lunch!

My Slim Fast breakfast and lunch have been good so far. They're keeping me pretty satisfied. But again, I haven't started working out so we shall see. My first Yogalates class is tonight and my aerobics class is tomorrow morning. I'll report back on both.

Before I close this, I have to thank everyone for their incredible support and encouragement! I was so surprised to see so many comments on my blog, on Facebook and on Twitter. It made me feel amazing and it definitely motivated me even more. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You guys ROCK! I will do my absolute best to give this blog a super happy ending! :)

Just do it!

Welcome to Heather 2.0. This is my blog for my biggest new year's resolution: losing the weight I gained while pregnant....both times. After I had my first baby, I lost MOST of the weight, but I left 10 lbs on. Then I got pregnant with my second, shot up about 50 lbs and have barely lost any of it. My second baby is now almost 8 months old and I'm ready to lose all of the weight.

I'm going to be completely honest on this blog. I hope in this honesty I will feel more accountable and will stick to my plan and goals. I am currently 181 lbs. Being 5'9", this puts me at a BMI of 26.7 which is officially overweight. This is the heaviest I have ever been (while not pregnant). I tend to hide my weight fairly well because of my height, but I have lost confidence in the way I look and I want it back.

My goal is to lose 41 lbs. My plan is to exercise and diet until June. If I reach my goal before June, then that's great. But in order to make sure my goal is realistic, I wanted to give myself enough time. I also wanted to give myself a specific timeframe so that it would be easier for me to really push myself to lose the weight knowing that I don't have to continue that tough lifestyle forever. I know this is not the "normal" way to lose weight, but keep in mind, this weight is mostly due to pregnancies. I gained the weight while pregnant. I truly believe once I get down to my goal weight of 140 lbs, I'll be able to maintain that weight without many problems.

My diet plan is to use Slim Fast for breakfast and lunch and then eat a light dinner. Some people don't think Slim Fast works, but when I have drank it in the past, I really do feel satisfied enough to not eat. I hope it will continue while I'm exercising. If not, I do have backup ideas.

For exercise, I have signed up for an aerobics class on Monday and Wednesday monrings (at 5:45 am....ouch) and Tuesday evenings I have a Yogalates class (a mix of pilates and yoga). I will probably also do some treadmill walking/running and toning exercises.

My diet and exercising will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, January 3. I plan to weigh myself once a week. I also plan on taking photos of myself in a bikini so that I can SEE the differences too. You may want to shield your eyes tomorrow. I'll probably post the pics here. Again...motivation.

So, I'll report back on how things are going periodically. The intention of this blog is to motivate me but to also maybe help other people who are working on the same resolution. Let you know you aren't alone in your frustrations, set-backs, achievements, victories and grumpiness.

I truly believe I can meet my goals. I also think everyone else can too. You just have to decide you're going to do it...and DO IT.