The Good and the Bad

The bad part of weight loss this week:

I'm dying to check the scale this week.  I told myself I'd only check it weekly but I'm staying firm.  I did, however, do wii fit this AM and it was happy news.  Still killing me not to know.  I'm a creature of habit, what can I say?  I've had a cold all week and it's not been hard to not want to eat more... so the dieting thing hasn't been too much of an issue.

The best part of working out this week:

I'm getting more fit.  When I started workout and doing harder routines (sorry Denise Austin, you barely give me a couple of points on weight watchers, Lindsay gives me 5 or 6!) I could barely do jumping jacks for 10 seconds.  Now I can do the full minute and not want to die after.  I'm sure some of that is losing weight but some of it is increased stamina and I LOVE that.  I really do. :)

Workout Du Jour

I find myself headed back to the Lindsay Brin workouts on the days I do a DVD (or VHS, does that date me?).  Today I did Core Metabolic Jumpstart.  This routine is 23 minutes, and it's (again) some high interval training.  The main thing about this one, is that for most of the exercises, you're holding a ball out in front of you (or a weight, I used a yoga block because I had one handy).  That really engages your core as you do all the exercises.  I feel bad that I called her annoying.  I should clarify, anyone whose voice is telling me to do hard things at 5:45 am is annoying. Even you would be called annoying. :)  Just so you know.  Just another good workout from her Moms into Fitness series.

Also, I did some yoga yesterday.  My friend Lara's Mom does the BYU series Total Body Workout.  She is a great Yoga instructor.  I only made it 15 minutes, mostly due to my cold, but I am hoping to keep trying with her once a week.  I think it will help, and part of me enjoys the stretching (the other part is falling over most of the time).

Needy: Yoga

My friends, I thought I was going to die the Sunday after we got back from Disneyland.  I hadn't done any "workouts" that week, but I thought my tailbone was going to shoot out of my skin!  Well, I kind of wished it would....

Anyway, the last round of injections weren't as helpful as I'd hoped and so I've decided to try yoga once a week. 

Personally, I hate yoga.  A. lot.  I'm not very good at it, so that doesn't help but I really just can't get into the whole "namaste" of the whole thing.

BUT, I think some stretching is just what I need for this tailbone of mine.

However, I am going to be doing the yoga on an "off" day, so I need it to be 20 minutes'ish.  Something I can do quickly while P is asleep or eating her lunch.  Does anyone know of a Yoga DVD that will fit the bill?
I've done enough of it while I was pregnant that I can do a routine on my own but I would like a DVD if anyone knows of one.

{gasp} Maybe I'll end-up liking it! :) Nah.....

Woe is Me (otherwise entitled "fat is me")

I WENT UP!!!!  How did that happen!!!!  Honestly, I think it happened because I was too focused on it.  It was taking almost an hour out of my day to track both the weight watchers points and the calories (see below).
I went up about .4 pounds, I think.
Also, I'm sick.  I have had this chest cold for... i dunno, like a month.  But it's worse now. 
ANYWAY, here's what I'm really gonna focus on.
1.  I don't love how high my fat calorie points were.  It wasn't like I was eating a lot of healthy fats either.  I want to try and decrease that.  I think I want to calorie count every now and then.  But I'm tkain' this week off.
2.  No popcorn this week.  My favorite snack is to sit on the couch with a big bowl of buttered popcorn.  I was only putting a tablespoon of butter on it but it's just no good.  It wastes time and it is fairly calorie heavy.  I have tried the 100 calorie bags, but maybe I need to try them again.  I'm a salty foods gal.
3.  More water, especially on the days when I work out.  I had a 600 calorie workout this AM.  That's a lot of calories... and I'm often sore the next day and I gain weight most every time I workout.  I'm going to approach this in a couple of ways:

• Drink 8 glasses of water on my high intensity workout days
• Have a fruit/vegetable snack in the early morning (esp. on workout days).  Preferably one with some fiber and water.
• I don't think I'll eat my workout points.  Unless I'm crazy hungry and then I hope to fill it with the fruit/veggie snacks.  I went to Trader Joe's today and filled up the crisper drawers.

4.  One weigh weekly.  It's painful to see the weight go up after working out.  It's what weight watchers recommends, and I'm gonna try it.  Of course, my wii weighs me on Fridays when I work out with it, so that will just be an added bonus (but I don't give a lot of credit to the wii scale).

Anyway.  It's easy to think SCREW. IT.  I'm done, it's not working.  I'm trying not to think that.  I am trying to think of it the same way I think of our budget.  Each month is a fresh clean slate where I can stay on budget and not over-spend.  Sure I make mistakes every now and then but it keeps us on track.

Really, tell me I'm right here ladies....

The Calorie Dillemma

Last week I did calorie counting along with counting my points.  I joined sparkpeople, and I really like their calorie counter.  I ate my points every day, on Friday I did eat a few extra points... I think it was 6 extra points.  Below you'll see my sparkpeople listing of what I ate:

Basically it boils down to the fact that I'm eating just under 1300 calories for the days that I'm following the plan.  Which is fine, if the plan is working.  Which... it is.  I think. :) 

I was torn if this is too low, as Spark people says I should be eating 1300-1700/day.  I wonder if I should eat my activity points.

BUT, I didn't track yesterday, we went out to eat and I used up most of my extra points that day.  So, I think it boils down to a fine amount of intake for the week.

However, I eat too much fat.  I don't eat very many carbs, which I think means that I could stand a vegetable or fruit more.  I also don't eat a ton of "free" food on weight watchers (aka, vegetables).  I am going to figure out ways to remember to snack on fruit instead of... um.... buttered popcorn (my FAVORITE).  But I am a girl who likes cheese and salt.  I know I'm not going to live on a diet that restricts those two too heavily.  I can take limits, but only so much.

Slow and steady wins the race, right (btw, doing both counting was really painful.  It probably took a half an hour each day... but it was worth it for the week.  I am now going to be counting points on a little app I found for my phone, since my WW subscription is over).  Wish me luck!

And the Winner is!!!!!

MARYANNE!!!!  I didn't even rig it for you Maryanne!  I used the ol' Random.org generator!

Anyway, thanks for commenting everyone.  I realy did email sketchers to see if they'd give me a freebie but I'm not holding my breath. 

BUT, while you're drying the tears from your eyes...

I do have good news.  If you use the code DVD20 on their website you'll get 20% off your order.  For anyone who's newly pregnant that makes the prenatal series like 40 dollars, which is a great deal (but I have no idea how much shipping is).

Anyway, I bet if you pull up my posts you'll see a bunch of the ones I've used from them.  I always like them. :)  Ok, I'm not going to lie -- she's moderately annoying and far more cheerleader-ish then I ever have/will be... but she does a good workout.  She's commited to moms getting fit and I really like her blog.
Anyway.

There you go.

Without further adieu, workout du jour was:

Lindsay Brin's Postnatal Boot Camp.  O. M. Goodness am I sore!  I didn't really work out, per se as I was hauling an extra 50 pounds around Disneyland but man, this was a reality check.  I did the 3 minute warm-up, 10 minutes of interval training (and she's not messin' around with this interval training, it was ugly), 3 minutes of core, 10 minutes of just toning (where she hits EVERY major msucle group, no lie), 3 more minutes of core and the 3 minute cool down which includes a bit of yoga which I actually like.  I actually wish she'd do a 10 minute yoga segment you could add on to her DVD's at the end.  But if wishes were nickles....  That whole thing took me 40 minutes to do.  I did it on Wednesday and I was dying yesterday and just starting to feel better today.  I do think that interval training is the way to go.  It's a hard workout with so many benefits.  I've read a lot about it lately and that it can be worth a whole hour of working out in just a short time span.  I'm all about savin' a minute or two. :)

Anyway, thanks again for tryin' for the big prize!

Don't forget to enter the Giveaway

Don't forget to enter the giveaway a few posts below.  Who doesn't want to shed five fast? :)
I'll pick picking the winner tomorrow AM using our friend the random number generator.  I love you all so much, I could never choose. :)

And Update on the Shape-Ups

Ladies and Gentlemen, these are my new favorite shoes.
Some of you might remember my inital review of the Sketchers Shape-Ups and how much I liked them initially.  I said that I had a week coming up with a lot of walking.

Sister.  Man oh man did I WALK.  I'm talking Disneyland walking.  I'm talking Disneyland walking hauling at 15 pound 1 year old (she's tiny, thank goodness) on my back and a 36 pound 6 year old in a stoller.  I should have had some aching little tootsies... but they weren't!

I will say that the backside of my thighs did hurt on the first day and I always made sure to stretch-out the back of my legs in the evening after we got back from the park.

Anyway, I'm interested to see if I'll have any big inch change since I walked a good marathon in these last week... if they're supposed to "Get me in shape" (which I doubt) they should have done it!.

Anyway, save your pennies ladies... maybe I could get THEM to do a giveaway.... Hmm....

Calorie Question

Time for the big calorie question....

How many is good?

Honestly, I just realized that I get 26 pounds on weight watchers, and that only translates to under 1200 calories.

I have recently come to terms with the fact that I can hope I can do weight watchers on my own, but I joined Sparkpeople because I like to see my weight on a fancy graph.  SparkPeople tells me that I should be eating between 1350-1700 calories per day.

Back when I charted my calories I was between 1200-1500/day unless I splurged and went out. 
Honestly, I'm not sitting around all day.  It seems like I am with 3 blogs, but let's face it -- I type fast. :)
Doesn't 1200 seem kinda small?

I actually don't feel like I'm being denied anything on weight watchers, and I'm not hungry all the time...
So, this week I'm going to count calories AND do my points.

I may lose my mind, but I'm excited to see the results.

I do think that point counting IS easier.... but I think a calorie count every now and then reveals a little something about fiber and possible health benefits to eating differently. :)

The Sad News About Disneyland, and a Giveaway!

Guess who's up a pound.  For anyone who reads my real blog I went to Disneyland last week and I was actually up 3 when I got home.  Honestly, I can't imagine why I'm up.  I had P strapped to my back most of the time and we walked to and from our hotel daily (sometimes twice, often pushing a stroller).  But, what's done is done.  I took the time off of weight watchers.  I just knew I couldn't count points, keep track of 3 kids and really enjoy myself.  The time off of it, I admit, was really nice.  I enjoyed not having to count...

But now I'm home and that first morning, just looking into the fridge was daunting.  No more eating blythely... time to write it all down. {Sigh}.  Of course, I also have to make my own bed, tackle loads of laundry and actually entertain P... it's a tough life.

But, to celebrate me being back on the wagon I have a GIVEAWAY!!!!  I know, i know... I hate blogs who have a giveaway daily, esp. some ETSY stuff... blah, blah, blah.  But, if you have read this blog you know that I use the Lindsay Brinn workouts quite often.  A couple of weeks ago they offered to send me free videos for doing reviews on Amazon for their products.  So, in the mail while I was gone I got 3 videos.  Two which I didn't already have, and one that I already do, and that I love.  So, what better way to put it to use than to give it away here on the blog.

The workout they sent me is Shed Five Fast.  I really like this one, and it's not just for losing those five pounds either.  It's a high intensity interval-type workout and two different workouts are included on the DVD.  I really like it, and I hope you will too.  So, people just comment and I'll enter your name in the drawing, which I will draw on this very Friday!  Also, you can get two entries if you post a link to this giveaway on your own blog.  Oh, and I just noticed that Lindsay has free shipping for the next 72 hours on some of her DVD's with the code: freeshipCMJ

Need a Weight Tracking Site

I think I'm ready to wean off of weight watchers.  I got a handy little app for my phone that will help count points, etc.... but I wanted a website that will somehow motivate me a bit.  I like seeing the little graph of my weight going down, down, down....
Does anyone have one that they love?

Sketchers Shape Ups

I bought these shoes a couple of weeks ago (with a sweet coupon at Kohls).  I am really in the market for great shoes that will help walking work right for me.  While looking on Zappos I found SO many amazing reviews for these shoes, and then just when I was listening on message boards, etc, people LOVED them.

So, I thought I'd get some.  I did NOT get them thinking it was going to firm my booty.  I want great shoes, that's all.

So, what do I think?

• First off, they do look insanely ugly when you pull them out of the package -- but look at them here... not too bad, eh?  I think they fix it by darkening the soles and not making it SO obvious that you're walking on a giant wedge of a heel.
• They feel SO great.  Really, SO great.  I don't wear my inserts (I have plantar Faschitis) and I leave them on all day they're so comfy!
• I think it is doing something for the back of my legs and my posture.  Standing in the middle of your foot instead of your heel makes me stand a little taller, and that can only be great, right?
• I am planning some serious walking in the weeks to come and these will be the shoes I'm wearing.  No pain with walking, just comfort.  Very happy.

The main con is the price.  I got them for 70 with a coupon at Kohls, but they usually run 100.  I bet if you search around on the web, like at shoebuy you might be able to fin da pair of Sketchers Shape-Ups that you like too.

Gaining momentum

Getting kind of excited. I ran 15 minutes straight last night at 5.5mph. And I'm not sore today so that's nice too.

Hmmm, maybe I really can train for a half marathon. Wish me luck!

Monday Weigh-In

An early weigh in this week again, due to forseen circumstances.  Down .8 again.  I'm happy with it.  Allergies are ATTACKING us as of late.  Just trying to make it through.  This week has a lot of fun events for our family so next week's weigh in may well be up.
BUT, the happiest of news is that I am now at my pre-pregnnacy weight.  I'm not at my low but this is the weight I was at for my first check up.
Happy times.
If only I hadn't eaten like a pig when I was sleep-deprived.
Happy Monday!

Hate it Friday

Thats right, I HATE THINKING (picture courtesy of National Geographic who has a really cool brain page, who knew?!).  Actually, I work weight watchers to have one meal a week where I don't have to think at all.  I stay pretty well within my point limits all week and on one night I just go crazy, it's usually Saturday and if we have a sitter, just all the better. :)  It's just annoying to have to keep track of everything that passes these cute little lips, oh for the days when I just threw everything in.  I try to also keep track of licks and nibbles, adding a point or two here and there for times when I absentmindedly eat.  So, what do you hate about your personal "health plan" (I hate the word diet, because it's an ugly word AND it's a lifestyle I'm changing).

Workout Du Jour

My video workout this week was Paula Abdul's Cardio Dance.  I got this video around the time I graduated from nursing school and I have to tell you, it's withstood the test of time.  It still keeps its place of honor in my excessive workout video collection (and shockingly enough, some have met their doom of the DI pile).

It's just what it says it is.  She does a "Dance" which gets you sweating.  It's similar to the Lindsay Brin video I reviewed a few weeks ago, but Paula slows down the music when she's showing the move to you (she also has a picture of her doing the move from the back) and then slowly speeds it up.  I'm going to admit here, that I had to stop and start the DVD a LOT when I was learning this back in 1998.  But the moves are fun, and they do get your heartrate up.

I have to say, that after The Firm Videos (which were bought MUCH later than this one) the set is warm and inviting... and their clothes aren't disgustingly outdated.

After the cardio dance (which lasts just under 1/2 an hour). She does a legs and butt routine that would make the Fanny Lifter proud.  It's really good and the moves aren't hard.  Then, there's a good amount of stretching, which is something I miss in a lot of videos.  It brought the video's time to 40 minutes.

I do see that on Amazon it's available on DVD and honestly... if you want to have fun when you workout in your own home you might want to try it.  But, you don't have to take MY word for it. ;)

running

Ran (or rather jogged) 12 minutes straight on the treadmill tonight!!! This is HUGE for me.

And now people are starting to try to trick me in to thinking I can train for a half marathon in October..... Can I do it??!!??

FYI, I've never been able to jog more than two and a half miles straight in my whole life....but I've also really never tried to lose weight so I could try do more, because I always thought it was my EID holding me back (Exercise Induced Asthma).

The weight loss makes a HUGE difference in my stamina and I never knew it could before

....hmmmmmmmmmmm

Excitement!

Ok, so even though my weight has yo-yo'd a bit since I got to my 1st goal weight, I am ecstatic because I jogged on the treadmill for the first time in about two months tonight and let me tell you......WOW!!!

I thought I was going to be so out of shape and struggle so hard, but after losing 14.6 lbs I jogged for TEN minutes with no problem at all!!! I only stopped at 10 because I didn't want to push myself too hard since it was the first jog in two months.

I was allowed to walk on "The Diet" but not any rigorous exercise. So I am elated that I can already jog that far. It just goes to show what a HUGE difference your weight makes in your stamina. I haven't been able to jog that long in over 6 years. (If you remember from my previous jogging posts, it took me two months to work very slowly from jogging 5 minutes to jogging 9 because of my asthma....and apparently my weight.)

Monday Weigh-In/Monthly Weigh-in

Drew and I do our weigh-ins the first Sunday of each month. 


Hilary has lost just about 11 pounds (in total, since the beginning of the year), her BMI has gone down 1.6 points and she's lost 2.25 inches off her waist.  In other news she lost almost TWO INCHES off her hips last month.  Waist went down half an inch and thighs by 1 inch, bringing her monthly inch loss to 3.25 inches, 12 since we started measuring.  Yay!  Hilary lost 4 pounds just this month

Drew has lost just about 13 pounds, his BMI has gone down 1.8 points and he's lost 3.5 inches on his waist.  Drew lost a little over 3 pounds just this month!  Way to go Drew!

It's all very exciting, but I was hoping for more of a loss from my waist.  I've been working it every other day with my Core Firing Sequence.  However, I was alternating between working out one day, doing that the next and I felt like maybe I was working my abs a little too much, not giving them a break on the days off.

SO, my workout plan will go like this:

Monday:  Your Shape/CFS (core firing sequence)
Tuesday: 15-30 minute walk/cardio if raining, etc.(I mean to get my heart rate up a bit, but make it light and easy on my body)
Wednesday:  DVD from my large library + CFS
Thursday: 15-30 minute walk/cardio
Friday:  Wii fit, along with bursts of cardio in between +CFS
Saturday and Sunday OFF (although I may try and talk Drew into some Just Dance on the wii -- I love that game, he hates it)

Part of me wonders if I didn't lose more inches because I'm not doing Your Shape daily.  I do think, that much like a personal trainer she works you in ways that will decrease your size.  However, it does get really old, and it takes time to set-up the lighting, change into an outfit that she can "see" me in.

We'll see how it goes this month, and I will adjust as needed next month.  Of course, eating will continue with Weight Watchers.  My online subscription will be up at the end of the month.  I may end-up continuing just because it is a nice way to keep track of it all and I will admit that the weekly weigh-ins are a slight amount of motivation.

It's happening though, slowly and healthily -- but it is happening. :)

Wordle of the week

Yay!

I thought I'd alternate between things I hate and things I love.  You know, the yin and the yang.  The shama, and the lama-ding-dang. :)

I love seeing those numbers on the scale go down!  I went down 1.8 last night, I do think that working out does make me retain weight, but really... who knows.

I weigh in daily and while I'm now considering doing it less, I do enjoy seeing those numbers come down. 

Somehow I'm not a huge fan of having to wear a belt with my pants so they're not falling down, but I do get a small amount of pride from that.

Down, down baby....

What do you love about working out and eating right?  I hope to find some of the more kwirky things, but seeing that scale drop is pretty darn obvious, and obviously delightful.

Question Time

I am not going to pretend that I am a weight loss guru.  It's something I struggle A. LOT. with in my life.  I really HATE the way I look.  So I'm coming to you, my humble reader to give me some advice.  Here's this week's question:

Can I work out too much?  I'm only doing DVD's and of course, being a mom, but I feel like on the days I work out I'm not losing weight. 

Is it just because I eat like a pig?  {sigh}  Not losing this week, and it's bugging me.  So -- there's my question.  Go to, answer!