Work Out: January Week 1

Well I don't get daughter-of-the-year award.  Yesterday was my dad's birthday and I thought it was the 29th so this morning at the gym when I saw that it is the 31st my heart sank because I missed my dad's already unfortunate December 30th birthday.  Sorry dad.  Happy Birthday!

Speaking of the gym, I promised some people that I would post this week's workout.  But first, I have some more pictures of my progress.  These are not the kind of pictures that you see on Facebook that people take of themselves with puckered lips.  I know you know what I mean.  I'm doing it to document my progress.  That's it.  

1 week after baby


6 weeks after baby

So I have gotten some compliments that make me laugh.  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate any compliment but I get, "you look great for just having a baby."  Haha!  What does that even mean?  You don't look great for a normal person but since you just had a baby...  Just kind of funny to me.  And I know I've got a way to go to be where I want to be.  I'm excited for it!

Here is how I'm going to do it this week.

Monday: Upper Body
Incline Bench Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps                           
Bent Over Barbell Row: 3 sets of 8-12 reps      
Dumbbell Shoulder Lateral Raises: 3 sets of 8-12 reps      
Triceps Dips on Bench: 10-20 Dips                        
Preacher Curls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps                         

Tuesday: Lower Body
Dumbell Squats: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Leg Extension: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Lying Leg Curls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Calf Presses: 3 sets of 20 reps
Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Exercise Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Thursday: Upper Body
Scull Crushers: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Pullups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Shoulder Presses: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Triceps Pushdowns w/ Cables: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Cable Curls: 3 sets of 8-12 repsDumbbell Shrugs: 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Friday: Lower Body
Deadlift: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Leg Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Lunges: 3 sets of 20 reps
Seated Calf Raises: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Ball Pull-ins for Legs (not sure what this is really called): 3 sets of 12-20Decline Crunches: 3 sets of 10-15 repsPlanks: 3 sets for 1 minute

Don't forget to do cardio for at least 20-30 minutes/day.  I will increase the amount of cardio time as I lower the amount of weight lifting time.

Follow me on Facebook for more diet and exercise tips and to see my progress (and a little DIY in there too). linking up @:

Happy Holidays!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I did. We spent the morning at our own house for the first time ever. Morgan was so excited for Santa to come and he delivered! She got a pink big-girl bike.  I got a Cricket.  That's right, get excited for some major DIYing with vinyl!  Two of Tom's four presents came after Christmas so he just got into the spirit of giving.

I used to be sad when the holidays were over but for the past few years I have been super excited.  Not because I'm all Scroogie but because of the new beginning.  New goals, clean slate.  It's all psychological but, you know.

Well, I just wanted to say hi and share an awesome recipe today.  I'll post diet and exercise stuff next week, as well as a DIY project and maybe something about houses.

I found this recipe for Eggs Benedict casserole on Pinterest (follow me if you'd like) and I made it for Christmas morning.  Delicious!  And not so unhealthy if you nix the Hollandaise sauce (but I didn't -- it was Christmas).

Taste of Home

• Prep: 25 min. + chilling Bake: 45 min.
• Yield: 12 Servings

254570

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound Canadian bacon, chopped
• 6 English muffins, split and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• SAUCE:
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

• Place half of the bacon in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; top with English muffins and remaining bacon. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and onion powder; pour over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
• In a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water, constantly whisk the egg yolks, cream, lemon juice and mustard until mixture reaches 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Reduce heat to low. Slowly drizzle in warm melted butter, whisking constantly. Serve immediately with casserole. Yield: 12 servings (1-2/3 cups sauce).

Nutritional Facts1 piece with about 2 tablespoons sauce equals 286 calories, 19 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 256 mg cholesterol, 535 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 14 g protein.

Progress

Part of this would have been a post from last Friday but compared to what was happening in CT it would have been trite and insensitive.  I weighed myself after the 5 days of cookies.  I literally only had cookies until dinner one of the days.  It was uncontrollable and there is no excuse.  But it was delicious.  As your consultant I say don't do it.  I gained 2.5 lbs.

So I cleaned it up the next week and by Wednesday (two days ago) I was back down and actually lost even more.  As of Wednesday, December 19, the number is 153.1.

Starting weight on November 27-- 159.6
Total down: 6.5 lbs
Size: 30 (or 10, I think) jeans
Goal: 135 lbs, size 28 (or 6) by March
Height (because I know you want to know): 5' 8"

Normally I would want to have lost at least 8 lbs but for the holiday season, I'll take it.  I'm also going to just enjoy the next few days.  We have been given a lot of yummy gifts, will be making more delish cookies, and have a party to attend... not to mention Christmas.

However, I will still be working out so hopefully that will partially counteract the sugar intake.

Here are some pictures of me in the process.  Just so you know, showing and telling everything about my weight is kind of hard for me.  I'm putting myself out there in a way that society easily judges but I'm doing it to motivate myself and any of you who want to do this with me.  I'm trying to keep it real.

1 week after baby

3-4 weeks after baby

Oops

Sometimes I try to be a super mom and I end up just being a moron.  Like this time that I made pancakes for Morgan in fun shapes.  Great idea, right?  Well, if you do it, use metal cookie cutters.  

Flat Abs, No Muffins, Shrink Thighs

Guess what.  I got almost 7 hours of sleep last night!  It is an awesome day.

I got to go to the gym before my husband went to work and while I was there I was looking on Pinterest while walking on the treadmill.  It's not easy but it makes the time pass quickly.  Anyway, I came across some pins that I see all the time.  They are the ones that say "3 exercises to lose the muffin top" or "get rid of belly fat."  They totally bother me.  They are misleading and I want to clear some things up.

When you lose weight, you lose it equally throughout your body.  If you gain more in your abs or thighs, those will be the first places you lose but you cannot do crunches and only lose fat in your abs.  You can't do Supermans and lose only your muffin top.  But guess what.  You can do an awesome leg workout and lose in your abs.  Because you are losing fat.  Everywhere.  And I got an A and tutored student athletes in physiology at BYU so unless physiology has changed in 9 years, I should know. ;)

Here is how I'm going to lose my muffin top, flatten my abs, shrink my thighs, and all the other lines that are used... my weightlifting plan this week:

3-5 sets of:

Day 1: Chest and Back (Heavy Weights)

25 dead lifts
8 dumbell chest presses
8 dumbell back flies
8 dumbell chest flies
8 rows (rowing machine)
8 barbell chest presses
8 lat pull downs (machine)
push ups (until you can't do another)

Day 2: Legs (Heavy Weights)
10 sets or 45 minutes:
30 walking lunges holding weights
14 jump squats holding weight
8 leg extensions (machine, heavy weight)
8 hamstring curls (machine, heavy weight)
10 barbell squats

Day 3: Arms and Core (Heavy Weights)
10 sets or 45 minutes
8 skull crushers
8 bicep curls w/ dumbells
1 minute plank
20 triceps dips
8 bicep curls w/ barbell
50 bicycles (abs)
20 push ups
8 preacher curls (one arm at a time)
20 supermans

Day 4: Shoulders (remember to lift super heavy)
10 sets or 25 minutes: rest 30 seconds between exercises
8 dumbell shoulder presses
20 dumbell shoulder shrugs
8 dumbell lateral raises
8 dumbell front raises

I also do 20-40 minutes of low impact cardio, like walking, elliptical or Stair Master.

Looking Again

When we moved to the house we're in now we were all like "we're not moving again for two years because moving stinks!"  Oh the innocence of 6 months ago.  Not that we're moving, but we are looking for a house to buy which means we would move if we found something.  It just doesn't make sense to rent the house we're in when we could buy [the house below] for the same monthly price.  When we bought our Idaho house Tom had already walked through 200 houses.  But it was pretty much destiny that we found that one.  So anyway, now we are "in the market," so to speak, and we'll probably look at a whole bunchy bunch that I'll post on the blog (if they are blog worthy).  Let me show you the house I want, or I think I want (because we haven't actually been inside yet).

I have ALWAYS wanted columns!

Love the french doors and the porch.

Kind of a small kitchen, but it's pretty.

The banister would need to be stained dark brown and even though I really like the color of these walls, I'm so obsessed with the foyer in the show Revenge that I would try to make it look more like... 

...this.

I've also always wanted a claw foot tub with a chandelier above it, which this house just happens to have.

And I like how fun the basement is.

View!

So, we'll see.  It has been on the market since May.  I don't think it will go anywhere anytime soon but I could be wrong.  Maybe seeing it will be on the agenda for tomorrow.

Sleeeeeep

I have zero will power.  Ugh.  We made cookies last weekend to deliver to friends and have some extra.  Every day I say that I'm not going to eat anymore but here I am at 11:30 at night sitting on the couch with a gallon of milk and a belly full of gingerbread men watching Army Wives when I should be trying to sleep before the baby wakes up for her two hour happy time that usually starts in 20 minutes.

Speaking of sleep, it's very important to get enough sleep (ideally 8 hours) when you're trying to lose weight. Now, I know after the first paragraph you're thinking, "who is this late night cookie eater to talk about losing weight?"  Well, I'm a normal person who struggles when there is too much delicious temptation.  But I know what I'm talking about.

If you're not getting enough sleep your metabolism/hormones could mess up, which could cause you to maintain or gain, not to mention that if you are tired you tend to drink caffeinated drinks, skip the gym, grab take-out and sit on the couch and eat cookies and milk in the middle of the night because you're too wound up to sleep.  And that sometimes makes you gain too.

So, to sum it up, get your sleep!  And I'm so jealous of you if you can (although I wouldn't change my situation for anything).

Master Bedroom #3

This is the third time I have posted our master bedroom on this blog and the funny thing is that they have each been different master bedrooms -- and ours.  Ugh, we move too much (and I think we're catching the bug again).  

Anyway, this is the middle of the "before."  

I thought it would be such a great idea to get wooden letters and put a saying above the bed.  Listen, I'm not a vinyl on walls fan and this was just barely a step above that so I nixed it.  

Here's the final "after" pic.  Pardon the low quality phone photo.  I decided to go with pictures on a piece of wood that I painted.  The pictures are all black and white of me and my husband on various vacations that we have taken.  

The former owners of this house left their curtains and I hate everything about them.  Sure my bedroom is a mess (we were just moving in) but the brown curtains that cover the window make it look like a dungeon.

Here's a little tip for you:

And that is, in my opinion, much much better.

 I would even raise them more if the curtains were longer but doesn't it make the window look so much bigger?  And I know this picture doesn't show the whole room but the room looks a lot bigger with the lighter color.

PS  Remember how I mentioned my anti-love for vinyl on walls?  Well, look what the former owners left for us right there where it's almost impossible to get to without a ginormous ladder.  

Move It!

It's time to talk about exercising.  To me exercising is so much easier than eating super well.  Too bad nutrition is like 85% of the whole body fat losing process.  But that does leave 15% for exercise, which is still very important.

If you are just starting a program -- I'm not saying "diet," because it has to be more of a lifestyle -- you should start with heavy weight lifting.  If you're a female this probably goes against everything that your little cardio body is used to or wants to think.  Weight lifting is so important!  By lifting weights you build muscle, which burns a lot of calories (and calories equal fat).  You may think that you are going to look like this:

But you're not!!!  I guarantee that these chicks are on some sort of steroids/testosterone (not to mention sleeping in a tanning bed).  Women naturally produce minimal amounts of testosterone compared to men and women do not look like that by just lifting weights.  I promise!

Women and men can do the exact same workout and when men bulk up, women tone.  This girl did a 12 week program of heavy weight lifting (plus eating well and cardio) and lost 11.6% body fat and gained 1/2 pound of muscle.

Total Health and Fitness

This guy did a similar 12 week program and gained 10 pounds of muscle.  So, more testosterone = more muscle bulking.

Total Health and Fitness

I started this weight lifting plan that I will change each week.  It took 20-25 minutes to complete (Monday) and I was definitely feeling it the next day.  If you do this, remember to lift heavily.  It suggests 8-12 reps and that means that the weight you choose should not let you do 13 reps.  If you are doing more than 12 reps you need to lift a heavier weight.  After I lifted I did cardio.  I ran on the treadmill (until I felt like my pelvis was broken -- 5 min) then did the stair master for 20 minutes.

Monday: Upper Body
Bench Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps                           I used 2 20 lbs dumbells.
Bent Over Barbell Row: 3 sets of 8-12 reps          I used 50 lbs on the barbell.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps        I used 15 lb dumbells.
Skull Crushers: 3 sets of 8-12 reps                        I used a 15 lb dumbell.   
Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 8-12 reps                            I used 20 lb dumbells.

Tuesday: Lower Body
Barbell Squat: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Leg Extension: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Lying Leg Curls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Standing Calf Raises: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Exercise Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Thursday: Upper Body
Dips: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Pullups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Lateral Raises: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Triceps Pushdowns: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Cable Curls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Friday: Lower Body
Deadlift: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Leg Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Lunges: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Seated Calf Raises: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Shrugs: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Decline Crunches: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Hyperextensions: 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Winner

I have a winner for the $50 Shutterfly credit.  I used random.org and the random number they chose...

11

Congratulations to ScottandKristenJohnson and thanks for following on Facebook!  Email me at kellinielson@yahoo.com.  

154.8

154.8.  That's my weigh-in today.  It's been a week and five days since I started and I'm down 5 pounds.  Yeah!  Actually I wish it was more, but I don't, but I do.  I don't want to not have enough milk for Sophie but I just want to be back to normal, you know?  Anyway, good and healthy progress.

Today I'm going to post another diet plan.  It's cleaner than I have been eating and I will probably start to clean things up more for myself now that all our leftovers are gone from people bringing us meals (which we totally appreciate!).

This meal plan is between 1400-1500 calories, with an appropriate amount of carbs, protein, and fat. For those of you who want to use this, keep a daily food journal. Write down everything that you eat. That way if you deviate from this list you will be able to see what you are eating and know the reason you don't see results, if that's the case.

Weigh yourself the morning before you start this plan.  If you want me to help you out, email me with your weight and I can help you.  That way I can motivate you, see your progress, and you will feel more apt to stay with the program. You should plan on losing about a pound a week.

The times can vary. If you are up before 7AM, eat breakfast at whatever time you wake up. Then eat the other meals at the time difference that is on the list.

If you don't like some of the things on this list, let me know (if you want help) and I can change it to things you do like.  When I did this, my consultant (also my boss) added in doughnuts for breakfast for someone because he loved them (doughnuts) so much.  I don't recommend that, but it's possible.

Get at least 7 hours of sleep if possible.

And don't forget to enter my Shutterfly giveaway!  It ends tomorrow.

Here goes:
1 multi vitamin
1 essential fatty acid (fish oil)
64+ oz water

7:00 AM
1 c Cheerios (plain but you can add Splenda) -- 110 cal
1/2 c milk -- 43 cal
1/2 apple -- 45 cal
1 egg -- 78 cal
1 egg white -- 16 cal
292 Calories

9:00 AM
1/2 apple -- 45 cal
2 tbsp peanut butter -- 188 cal
233 Calories

11:00 AM
Carnation Instant Breakfast No Sugar Added-- 70 cal
1 orange -- 62
132 Calories

1:00 PM
1/2 whole wheat pita -- 85 cal
2 serving deli ham -- 100 cal
1 serving mustard - 3 cal
1/2 c spinach -- 4 cal
tomato (1 whole) -- 22 cal
214 Calories

3:30 PM
10 Reduced Fat Wheat Thins -- 100 cal
1 string cheese -- 80 cal
180 Calories

6:00 PM
4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast -- 128 cal
3 oz sweet potato (cooked, with cinnamon and Splenda if desired) -- 77 cal
1 c frozen green beans -- 38 cal
243 Calories

9:00 PM
egg white omelet -- 80 cal
(4 egg whites + spinach, tomato, green peppers)
1 clementine (35 cal) or 1 kiwi (50 cal)
115 - 130 Calories

1409 -1424 Daily Calories

Christmas Countdown

I have been looking for fun Christmas countdowns/advent calendars for a while.  The other day I was at Ikea (of course) and came across this wire Christmas tree for 10 bucks so I snatched it up.

Then I saw 4 packs of mini stockings at Walmart for $.97 and bought six of them.  I had glitter glue from the dollar store and wrote the numbers 1-24 on the stockings.  Here's the result:

Here is our list for this year.  Some days we will double up because we have more to do than days in the countdown.

1. Holiday Lights at Thanksgiving Point
2. Festival of Trees
3. Christmas Devotional
4. Decorate Tree
5. Make Gingerbread House
6. Hang Christmas Lights
7. Ice Sculptures at Thanksgiving Point
8. Church Party with Grandma and Grandpa
9. Christmas Dice Game
10. Make Gingerbread Men
11. Write Letter to Santa
12. Dickens Christmas Festival
13. Party with Nana and Papa
14. Ride Front Runner to Temple Square and See Nativity
15. Deliver Presents for Charity
16. Breakfast with Santa
17. Zoo Lights
18. Work Party/Kids Visit Nana
19. Unwrap and Read a Christmas Book
20. See Santa at the Mall
21. Daddy-Daughter Date 
22. Morgan's Preschool Christmas Program
23. See Christmas Lights
24. Voice Male Concert
25. Decorate Cookies and Deliver to Friends
26. Family Christmas Party
27. Open New Jammies
28. Read Luke 2 and Walk to Bedrooms with Candlelight (Christmas Eve)

Linking up!

Weight Loss List

Hi!  I'm Kelli.  This cutie is Sophie.  I had her on November 16th and am working hard to lose the fat that I gained by being pregnant.  I think I weighed in around 175 at the last appointment before she was born.  When I got pregnant I weighed 135.  So now I am trying to get back to where I was... and maybe fit enough to do a fitness show in the fall.

I used to be a nutrition and exercise consultant for a company that helped people lose fat and gain muscle (tone up, lose weight, or whatever you want to say) by creating food and exercise plans for each person (and were all very similar, by the way).  I graduated from BYU in exercise science.  I know that sounds like I should be teaching aerobics, and I would like to, but that is a pre-med major.  I was going to be a physical therapist but after shadowing a bunch of people I decided that wasn't the way for me to go.  So I got married and now I just mooch off of my husband -- a much better way to go if you ask me.  Kidding.

Anyway, back to exercise and diet.  I'm taking anyone who wants to go along with me.  If you have questions or need help, feel free to ask!  I just signed up to be a Beach Body coach since I do all their stuff anyway.  You can email me at kellinielson{at}yahoo{dot}com.  I'd love to hear from you.

Here are the health related posts that I have done so far.

Why Diets Don't Work
Broken Neck
Time to Get Fit
Meal Plan
Cheat Meals
154.8
Move It!
Sleeeeeeeeep
Flat Abs, No Muffins, Shrink Thighs
Progress
Work Out: January Week 1
10 lb Challenge
Treadmill
Work Out: January Week 2
Fitness Story: Megan
Work Out January: Week 3
Baby-Weight Progress
Fitness Story: Amy
Plateaus
Runner Safety -- What Happened to Me on the Provo River Trail
My Marathon Hero
Killer Arms: Lori
Beginning Running
Poop Happens -- 9 mile run story.

Recipes
Skinny Shepard's Pie
Healthy, Yummy Dinners
Vegan Greek Pizza
Veggie Spaghetti


12 Week Fitness Plan
Recommitting -- Week 1 (of 12) fitness plan.
Week 2
Week 3: A blog with a Purpose -- My story (eating disorders).
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9 (and what I feed my kids)
Week 10 (and eating a plant-based diet)
Week 11
Week 12

Join me at The Color Run in Salt Lake City on 8/21/13.  Use the code COLORMETURQ to get $5 off registration!

Shutterfly Give-Away

Have you heard about "Family Photo Day" by Shutterfly?  It's really pretty brilliant.  Basically it's getting families together to take family pictures.  Each family creates a "scene" and each family can use each other's scenes for their family pictures.  You can take pictures for each other or hire a photographer as a group to get professional pictures and save money at the same time.  Great, right?  Check out their website!

My ideal "Family Photo Day" is one I heard while at a blogger party learning about Shutterfly.  One of the bloggers took a couch to the salt flats (Utah) and took their family photos on it.  She also invited a group of friends and their families to go so everyone could use it.  I'm so doing that in the spring/summer!  Who's with me?

In case you didn't know, Shutterfly is a great place to get your holiday cards printed and they will even send them for you.  I'm kind of in love with this simple card...

...With this photo.

Or this.

Or maybe this.

If you are looking for more traditional cards there are tons to choose from!

You can get updates on their Facebook and Twitter pages.  There may be some great deals... like this one that expires on December 3rd.

• Score a deal during the Shutterfly Half Off Sale: 50% off Hard Cover Photo Books, Calendars and Greeting Cards!

• Order any Hard Cover Photo Books or any Calendars or any Christmas Greeting Cards

• At checkout, enter promo code: SAVE50

• Shipping will vary.

But here's the great thing.  I'm giving away a $50 credit to Shutterfly!  The giveaway runs from Saturday, 12/1 to Saturday, 12/8.

You have 4 ways to enter.  1. Follow me on either GFC or Facebook and leave a comment telling me you do.  2. Follow Shutterfly on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you do.  3. Follow Shutterfly on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you do.  4. Visit shutterflyfamilyphotos.com and leave a comment with your "Family Photo Day" idea.

You Can Find Shutterfly HERE: 
Site: http://www.shutterflyfamilyphotos.com/
Blog: http://blog.shutterfly.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/Shutterfly
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/Shutterfly
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+shutterfly
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/shutterfly/
Intagram: http://instagram.com/shutterfly 

***Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Shutterfly and I was compensated 
All opinions are my own.

Cheat Meals

I have a couple of fun things to blog about today.  First, I got to go to my first blogger party sponsored by Shutterfly last night so tomorrow I'll be posting about some new things going on there.

Second, Sophie had her two week check up today.  I really can't believe it's already been two weeks!  Seriously, two weeks being pregnant after week 36 was like a lifetime to me.  But now that I can breathe again... whoa, fast.  She has grown two inches and gained 9 oz from her birth weight.  She's a good eater and I can pump like 5 oz at a time.  That's like a third of a water bottle.  Now imagine that in your boobs.  I'm just sayin'... C's to D's (when normally a small B).

Now for the last thing and more fantastic news.  I weighed in today.  I started on Monday and decided to weigh in on Fridays so I could have a cheat day on the weekend.  I have lost 3 1/2 pounds.  Granted, on Monday I weighed myself a little later in the day so I probably had an extra pound of water/food, but I'll take 2 1/2 pounds in 4 days.   I'm working on another food and exercise plan for those of you who want a guideline and I'll post it early next week.  But now I want to talk about cheat meals.

I allowed my clients one cheat meal per week.  This is when they get to have a normal serving of a favorite dish that is not on their normal meal plan.  It can be accompanied by either dessert or alcohol, but not both.  When I was strictly doing a super clean meal plan and my husband was too, we would go out on the weekend and order a meal from our favorite restaurant and share it.  Then we would share a dessert.  This worked for us because we didn't over eat and we saved money on restaurant food.  Score!

Cheat meals are important so your body doesn't feel deprived and mentally you give up on eating well because it's not fun.  Cheat meals give you something to look forward to each week.  And if you cheat during the week it isn't as meaningful to cheat on your designated cheat day.

Okay, so, eat nutritious, healthy food except for that one meal that you get each week.  You can do this!

Meal Plan

I'm always interested at how people lose weight.  I have seen a lot of ways that work so there is not just one perfect plan.  The important thing is to make sure you are eating enough, but not too much.  Sixty percent of your diet should be carbs, 30 protein, and 10 fat.  Here is my meal plan for Tuesday.

Supplements
1 multi vitamin
1 fish oil (essential fatty acid)
1 packet of Crystal Light Energy (caffeine is a diuretic and boosts metabolism)
64+ oz water

Breakfast
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup milk
1 apple (I did a whole apple because I am nursing -- you can do 1/2 apple if you want fewer calories)
1 whole egg
1 egg white

approx 300 calories

Snack
1 apple (or eat the other half of your breakfast apple)
1 Atkins bar (I do Atkins bars because they are higher in protein and lower carbs than other snack bars -- plus they're yummy)

approx 260calories

Lunch
1 bowl of soup that I made with quinoa, carrots, celery, onion, and turkey.

1/4 cup cottage cheese
10 reduced fat Wheat Thins


approx 400 calories  (usually I would save the cottage cheese and Wheat Thins for a snack but I was extra hungry)

Snack
1 apple
1 serving peanut butter

approx 280 calories

Dinner
turkey pot pie (homemade without butter -- yeah, we have a lot of turkey left)

approx 400 calories

Snack
2 servings Swiss cheese
2 kiwis (or whatever other fruit you want)

approx 200 calories

That's approximately 1840 calories.  Everybody is different so use this as a guideline and add or subtract calories where necessary.  With this meal day I kind of mixed two days because I think that I didn't eat enough on Monday so I had to up it Tuesday.

One problem that many people have is that they don't eat enough calories and their body jumps into starvation mode so they don't lose anything.  When this started to happen with my clients I would up their calories by 200 and that seemed to work.  It's also important to eat enough so that your body burns fat, not muscle.

Time To Get Fit

I wrote the following on Monday and I have a picture to go with but Google is going to start charging for more than 1 gig of memory on Picasa and it won't let me upload pictures.  So I'm deciding what to do.  Just imagine a "before" pic of me with a soft, pudgy belly in jeans that I have no right to be in.  Mmmkay, now that that's said, here's the post...


It has been a week and 3 days since I had the baby and after a fantastic week of fatty, sugary foods, it's time to clean it up.  I have to do this on the blog so I have some accountability, especially during the holidays.  Maybe some of you are asking why I'm starting in the middle of the holiday season.  My answer to that is because I would rather lose 5 pounds during December (any other month would be about 10 pounds) than gain the average 1-5 pounds.  It's also a lot easier to continue eating well during January if you don't go off the wagon (I'm not even sure what that phrase means) in December.

After I had Morgan I didn't eat cleanly for about 6 months and I hung onto that extra 10 pounds until I made up my mind to lose it. My opinion is that having a baby is no excuse to be overweight.

So, who's with me? Tom, for one.  He has to eat well with me because I'm making him.  :)  We won't have crap in our house because I will eat it.

We will both be eating 2000-2400 calories per day.  Normally I wouldn't eat that much but I need an extra 500 calories since I am nursing.  The food will be stuff like oats, cottage cheese, fruit, veggies, whole grain tortillas, turkey pepperoni (yeah, that's for me), eggs, yams, chicken, reduced fat cheese etc.  We will eat 3 meals and 3 snacks averaging about 350-400 calories each.  I can post what we actually eat if anyone is interested.  It is easiest for me to eat the same thing every day except for dinner.  That way I don't get sick of the food because there is something new every night.

As far as exercising goes... I exercised my whole pregnancy.  I am dying to go jogging/running again and hoped to be able to run a 5k on Thanksgiving.  As it turns out, having a baby is a little traumatic on my body and I wasn't able to do that.  But within a few weeks I'm sure it will be better.  For now I will have to walk and lift light weights.  For those of you who haven't had a baby this month, you are probably okay to walk/jog/run for at least 30 minutes a day and lift heavy weights.  Obviously talk to a doctor if you're just starting.  And also remember that it's 85% what you eat and 15% workout.

Let's do this!

Starting weight:  159.6
Pre-pregnancy weight: 135
Goal weight: 130-138

Baby Story!

It's been a while, I know.  And it's not that I haven't done any projects.  I have.  Blogging just hasn't been on my list of priorities for a while.  But, now that I'm not pregnant anymore (story below!) I plan on doing a lot more.  On Monday I will be starting my weight loss progress which will include how I'm doing it the healthy way.  But for now, here is the story of Sophia Gabrielle... my newest daughter.

Sophia Gabrielle

November 16, 2012

The last weekend in October Tom was in Idaho for our niece's baptism.  That Saturday night at 2:30 I started having contractions.  I was around 36 weeks pregnant and ready to be done but I didn't want it to happen while Tom was gone.  The contractions were lasting about a minute and were 2-8 minutes apart, but not strong.  They stopped after about an hour so I went to sleep.  For the next three weeks I had contractions off and on.  One day I had them for 14 hours, 5 minutes apart.  That was the Sunday before the presidential election and by Tuesday I was so frustrated and disheartened.  Then when Obama won again I just couldn't take it.  I cried myself to sleep (mostly because I was still pregnant).  

I was dilated to a 3 for 3 weeks.  Finally I got my membranes stripped the Monday after I was 38 weeks.  I had cramps and more contractions but nothing real.  I decided to go in again on Thursday and have them stripped again.  

1:15 AM, November 16, 2012 -- That night I woke up at 1:15 AM having more contractions.  I was sure that they were nothing so I decided to watch Army Wives and see if they went away.  They didn't so I hopped in the shower then did my hair and makeup (just in case it was real).  Then they started getting harder.  

3:15 AM --  I woke Tom up and called the doctor to see what he thought.  He said I could probably wait a little longer -- until I couldn't walk or talk through the contractions. 

3:30 AM -- I told Tom he better shower and get ready because it was really hurting.  We were weary to go because that would mean that we had to wake up our neighbor to watch Morgan.  

3:45 AM -- Tom took Morgan to our neighbor's (Carolyn) house.  She asked, "daddy, where are we going" and she was completely happy when he told her.  She loves going to their house.  We got in the car and Tom asked if he should speed.  I said no because if we got pulled over it would just take longer.

3:55 AM -- Tom stopped at a stop light.  Me: "Why are you stopping?!  Just run it!!!"  Followed by some choice words.  Tom:  "But the camera will take a picture and send us a ticket."  Me:  "I don't care!"  Tom: "I'll turn right then do a U-turn."  Me: "Just GO!"  Followed by more choice words.

4:00 AM -- I got to labor and delivery and they put me in a triage room and had me change my clothes.  I noticed there was a lot of blood on my pants.

4:03 AM -- A nurse checked me and I was at a 4.  Then she said, "that's a little more blood than we like to see."  Super.  I was going to die.

4:04 AM -- Me: "I need an epidural."  Nurse: "He's on call so he'll be here in 20 minutes."  And I probably said more choice words.  

4:05 AM -- I had to go to the bathroom but they wouldn't let me.  They said it was probably pressure from the baby.  I was sure that it was not.

4:10 AM -- By then the contractions were way above my pain tolerance.  Tom would try to hold my hand or rub my arm and I would just pull away and tell him not to touch me.  He was also trying to be funny so I had to tell him that he wasn't and to stop it.  Yeah, I'm not so nice in labor.  

4:30 AM -- Another nurse checked me and I was at a 5 or something.  They took me to a delivery room.  Side note: by this time at least 5 different people had had their hands in my vagina that week.  Awesome.

4:40 AM --  The CRNA arrived and gave me my epidural, which will turn out to be the best $1000 per half hour that I would spend.  

4:50 AM -- The epidural kicked in fully and I could relax a little.  My body was shaking uncontrollably and the pressure from the baby was intense.  The nurse checked again and I was at a 7.

5:15 AM -- I pooped (TMI? Maybe, but if it is you shouldn't go running with me ever).  I was so mad.  I told them I had to and now I couldn't do anything but let them clean it up.  

5:20 AM -- The doctor came in and got ready for delivery.  

5:25 AM -- He broke my water and told me to do 2 practice pushes.

5:29 AM -- After 3 more "real" pushes Sophia Gabrielle (Sophie) was born.  6 pounds, 11 ounces.  18 inches long.

She is such a sweet baby and her big sister is absolutely in love with her... just like her daddy and I are.