Crazy Cardio Got You Down?

This is for everyone who had been following along with my original incline workout. I was all set to lay a few new workouts on you but I do want to remind everyone that you need to be your own guide. If you are bored or your workout doesn't feel hard than you need to work to change that. After watching the Biggest Loser last night and thinking about my own loss of motivation I have really been thinking about the importance of challenge in our weight loss and fitness quests.

Watching last night I was reminded of how hard it is to challenge yourself. I used to have a trainer and I would leave my pilates workouts wobbly and sore... guess what? I NEVER feel that way when I train at home. And not because I don't want to but I think because it is just really hard to push yourself that far on your own. So I'm going to try and workout with that in mind and try to do a little more than I WANT to do. Do a few more rep, use higher weights, and walk at higher inclines for longer times.

Everyone's body is different as is everyone's fitness level. I want you all to look at these incline workouts with that in mind. I'm going to list what I am doing. You might not be there yet... or you might be but just haven't pushed it that far yet. If you aren't working out for longer than 30-45 minutes because you don't think you can, well, I urge you to try. I think you'll find that you can and that your fitness level is higher than you think. Those folks on Biggest Loser are working out for 6 hours a day. A. Freaking. Day. And they aren't passing out... oh... and they are doing that 100 pounds overweight. So think about what you are doing and think about how you feel afterward. After a hard workout I feel very differently than I do after a mediocre one. I am sweatier, my sinuses tingle (yes that might be weird but it always happens if I really push myself), and I feel GOOD. Getting to that point isn't always easy and doesn't itself always feel good... it is the reward you get from making yourself a little uncomfortable.

So keeping all that in mind... and the importance to change it up and trust yourself to be able to do that.... here are my current interval workouts:

I am still walking on the treadmill at 3.0 mph for the duration of the workout.

I like to change my interval based on the track display on my treadmill's monitor and not by the clock. I typically change it either every 1/12th of a mile (about 1.75 minutes) or every 1/8th of a mile (about 2.5 minutes). So the workouts are listed by 1/4 mile increments which will be divided by commas.

Workout #1 0% 9% 0%, 9% 0% 9% (that is an incline change every 1/12th mile) repeat for 60 minutes

Workout #2 0% 7%, 0% 8%, 0% 9%, 0% 10%, 0% 11%, 0% 12%, 0% 12%, 0% 11%, 0% 10%, 0% 9%, 0% 8%, 0% 7% (1/8th mile changes) this takes 60 minutes

Workout #3 0% 9% (1/8th changes for 1 mile), 6%, 9%, 0%, 9% (1/4 mile change for 1 mile), 0% 9% (1/8th changes for 1 mile)

Workout #4 0% 12% 0% (1/12th changes) repeat for 60 minutes

Workout #5 0% 10% (1/8th changes for 1 mile) 0%, 12%, 0%, 12% (1/4 mile changes for 1 mile) 0% 10% (1/8th changes for 1 mile)

All these are written for 60 minutes when I have the time and energy I'll just continue the pattern for 70 or 80 minutes. Sometimes when I'm doing a long one I'll throw in a long 1/4 mile interval at the highest incline and then give a 1/4 mile rest at 0% for my last 1/2 mile.

Hopefully this makes some sense. If not ask away...

I Got My Mojo Back

Where to begin...where to begin folks?
I just had one of the best workouts of my freaking life. This has been a real turbulent few weeks for me and I had kind of felt that I had lost my motivation. And it might just be the endorphins talking... but tonight I had a bit of an awakening. Guess what? I had let myself down. I had given up. I had stopped trying... had stopped working. As it turns out that doesn't leave you inspired and rearin' to go... it leaves you feeling... well.... lost and befuddled and three pounds heavier sitting on the couch whining about your aching shoulder.

It wasn't even a week ago that I posted about losing my fire... my drive and focus. I knew I was hitting a wall and that I needed to get back on track after taking several days off. No. Stop right there. I didn't "take" a couple days off... I gave in for a couple days and that, my friends, is the depressing truth. Had I actually scheduled a little break that would be one thing... what I did was schedule workouts and then fail to do them. And that is a pattern I am very familiar with. Feeling demotivated and depressed I decided to get this boat back in the water and did manage to pump out a workout on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But I'll be honest my heart wasn't in it and I kind of feared it might not ever be. I wasn't feeling the endorphins or proud of myself or anything I did it. And that's all I can say about it.... I did it.

Not trusting myself to take a break I also worked out on Monday and Tuesday. Now believe me when I tell you I didn't want to workout. I'm not putting on airs for dramatic effect. I seriously didn't want to do it... but I didn't want to let myself down... and oh yeah the little 3 pound weight gain I received this week did kind of spur me to just keep plotting along. Well tonight I was feeling the same...um... de-motivation.... I spent about 30 minutes procrastinating and thinking about filing paperwork instead (that should tell you how NOT into the workouts I've been!). Well after a bit of stewing I got my water bottle and changed and began watching the Biggest Loser from last night. And, people, I had a light bulb moment. It kind of went like this "See how hard they are working? You aren't working anywhere near that hard." And sure I've had this epiphany before... but it never ceases to inspire me. Here is a group of obese people who are running 14 miles an hour for crying out loud!! I need to do more... I need to push myself. So I did. I worked out harder than I have this whole year.

I stayed on that thing for 80 freaking minutes. And guess what? I got my fire back. Because what I realized is that I hadn't been challenging myself. And when you aren't being challenged you are going to get BORED both physically and mentally. You aren't going to see the same results you were seeing. When you lose weight your body adjusts, you get fitter and stronger, and need a HARDER workout. I hadn't even realized it but I had stopped having the endorphin rush a couple months ago... no wonder my workouts had seemed so lackluster and uninspiring. It never really occurred to me that I had just gotten used to my routines and was fit enough that I literally was no longer working out as hard as I had been. From now on when I get on that treadmill I am going to push myself... really push myself. I'm going to do what I think I can't do... and then I'm going to do it a little longer. Because the truth is I can. And you can to.

See?!?... I Don't Make This Stuff Up

Finally I'm vindicated by both mainstream media and science! Remember when I told you NOT to drink/eat artificial sweeteners? Well it turns out my theories were on the money. So put down the Diet Coke and walk away. Because people that crap is not helping you lose weight, in fact it may very well be making it harder for you to do so. Don't believe me? Well the scientists at Perdue do... you can read about their study HERE... there is a video too (with Diane Sawyer no less... watch it!)

You think I don't have something more to say on the topic?!... You should know me better than that by now.

The Question Is Not Can You Do It... It Is Should You Do It

I'm talking about eating out people. Can you eat out and still live a healthy lifestyle... and more to the point can you lose weight doing it? I think trying to stick to a healthy caloric intake and eating at a restaurant is like being a recovering alcoholic at a bar. Could the alcoholic just order a club soda? Yes... but after a bad day or under just the wrong circumstances they would be setting themselves up for failure. We can all see that.... but when it comes to eating out there seems to be a brain block. We all like eating out. Who doesn't? You don't have to cook and even better you don't have to clean up after yourself. We used to like to eat out too. But when I started dieting last year that was the FIRST thing to go... because as much as I like taking a load off... I believe it is too hard to lose weight while doing so. It just takes a quick look at your local restaurants nutritional information to give you a good smack in the face. I think you have to decide what you really want and if you want to lose weight you might have to give up being waited on. Now that doesn't mean I don't think you can go out every once in a while, but if you are eating out a few times a week than I think that is something you need to think about changing.

For all of you who feel you just cannot give it up here are my restaurant tips:

If possible look up the nutritional information BEFORE you go. If you know how many calories are in your favorite dish it might be easier to pass it up... and you should decide what you will order and stick to it.

If you can't find the nutritional info then you can take one of two strategies:

#1 When possible split your meal with your spouse/friend/child

#2 When ordering your meal ask for an extra plate (or a box) and IMMEDIATELY divide your meal into two... get the extra plate boxed up when you go.

#3 Order an appetizer for your meal. Trust me this is going to be pushing the 300-500 calories most dieters have allotted for dinner.

#4 Ask the waiter NOT to bring the bread/chips/crackers and if you are drinking a drink with calories (gasp) ask them not to bring you refills.

#5 ALWAYS get your dressing on the side and dip your fork into your dressing instead of pouring it on.

Now I didn't make it 10 months without going out to eat or getting takeout. I prefer to order take out since it is much easier to call and place an order for a healthy choice then to resist temptations when you are sitting there looking at them and smelling them! We had 4 takeout options that I felt really good about and enjoyed what I could get in my calorie range. That worked for me on the days that I didn't want to cook... but even that I have kept to 1 or 2 times a week.

FYI

I am opening up my Food Diary blog. Anyone who is interested can check it out HERE and let me know if this is a tool that they would like to use.
I used this format with great success during my weight loss phase.
My intention was to have it available to my friends and family who were interested in tracking their food and/or exercise intake. You will see that the last post was back in October. I'm going to be starting back up and anyone who might want to post their food journals as a way to stay motivated and accountable are welcome to do so.
You can use this tool in whatever way is helpful and motivating to you. You do not have to be counting calories, what you want to track and post is up to you.
Send me an email or give me yours in the comments of the Welcome post and I'll be able to set you up as an author.


Oh and on a completely unrelated note here I am....
Talking right to YOU

Enough Is Enough

I'm stopping the madness and I'm stopping it right now. I woke up this morning wanting to throw up.... and no.... not because I have the stomach flu. I'm pretty sure it is because I ate nearly an entire loaf of cinnamon streusel bread yesterday. I've been going pretty hog wild with the baked goods these days and I have got to step away from the oven.... NOW.

Some of you may know that during my weight loss phase I religiously kept a food diary. In December, after reaching my all time low, I actually suspended my food journaling because I found I was too food conscious and I was having a hard time eating enough food to maintain. Well let's just say I no longer have that problem. I had intended to take a reprieve until my weight went up.... but I can't wait that long. I feel like crap all the time and I find I am eating ridiculous amount of sugar and most likely fat. I'm making bad food choices just because I can... and at first that felt great and like I had earned it... and now I feel terrible and like I am letting myself down.

To be perfectly honest I expected my weight to go up as soon as I stopped journaling and didn't really put much thought into my diet assuming I'd be back to calorie counting in a matter of weeks. Well folks I'm throwing in the towel. When you find yourself sick because you couldn't stop eating a loaf of bread (that wasn't even good!) just because it is sitting there.... it is time to call it quits. Gorging on crazy amounts of baked goods was fun for a bit and now it is just disgusting. Today I'm going back to food journaling. Not because I need to lose weight but because I need to make better choices and keeping a dairy helps me do that. If you haven't tried keeping one before today... then today is the day. I promise you that just by writing down what you eat (not even figuring out the calories) you will eat less and make more informed choices. I promise.

So for this week I am going to start by tracking my food choices not my calories. If I feel that that is enough for me to turn this crazy carb fueled ship around then I will stick to that. If not then next week I will go back to tracking calories. Either way I am not going to be baking EVERY day. In fact I am not going to be eating "baked goods" at all. Or soda. Or McDonalds. I'm getting back on board and you can too.

The Endorphins Will Do You Good

It's Weight Loss Saturday

Mrs F talks about food rewards


Mrs F talks about her treadmill routine... on the treadmill!


and if you haven't seen this yet...
Mrs F Motivates... her weight loss story

The Evidence

Someone asked how my long cardio sessions toned my stomach. Here is me now:

If you want to know what I looked like before you can look at this:


This was taken in July at the start of my cardio training. I weighed 21 pounds more and was 31% body fat. And NO I am not sucking-in in the top picture.





Here is my progression shot montage if you missed this one before:
Go HERE to read the accompanying post. These shots track a four month weight loss.

Mrs F talks Cardio

Cardio The Mrs F Way
Some of this is based in science some comes from trial and error and some is just plain common sense. This is what I do. I'm not saying you need to do it or that this is the only way to do it. All I'm saying is that this is what has been working for me. If you are already working out more than this or harder than this... well.... use your head and keep doing what you are doing.There is some background information about why I am doing this workout in the video and you all can watch that to get the full scoop.

This is what I'm doing now (this is not where I started so keep that in mind):
I am WALKING on the treadmill for 60-80 minutes in one stretch.
I am walking at what I consider to be a purposeful pace, as in I've got to get to an appointment and if I get going I'll be on time... not I'm late and I need to jog!. For me this is 3 mph (I'm serious). Keep in mind I am short so this maybe slower than a purposeful pace for you. I chose this speed because it is about .75 mph SLOWER than if I was at my top walking speed. I want to be at a comfortable but PURPOSEFUL pace so I can focus on my incline.

While walking 3 mph I do incline intervals. On my treadmill I can go up to a 12% grade incline. Right now I'm doing short intervals (about 1.5 minutes) alternating between 0% incline and 8% incline. If I am doing a shorter workout I alternate a double interval at 0% with a single interval at 12%... believe me I need more of a recovery after the 12% incline. When I'm working out I feel like I'm working at about an 8 out of 10 exertion level. Could I work harder?.... yes.... but could I work harder and keep doing it for 60 minutes?.... no. You will burn more calories by uping your incline rather than your speed (fact). Also when doing intervals it is my understanding that you want to change it fairly dramatically so that your body has to work harder since it can't acclimate to the workout. This means 0% to 8% not 7% to 8%... this is one instance where overachieving might actually hold you back.

This is not my first go round at working out. I have done lots of different things in the past, but this has gotten me thinner than I have ever been. My thighs are literally thinner than when I was a TEENAGER! I am absolutely positive that working out at a slower pace while walking "hills" has allowed me to tone my legs and butt in a way that no previous cardio ever has (not even my pilates training!). Also I think keeping at a slower pace for a longer duration allows you to reach fat burning mode and stay there for a longer time. I started doing this workout (I change the incline % periodically) in July when I had hit a weight loss plateau. At that time I was 31% body fat. I started doing this cardio workout 5-6 times a week (consistently) and in 4 months I had lost 10% body fat. I am thinner than I have EVER been as an adult... probably even as a child! I truly believe this can help anyone burn fat faster than shorter more *intense* workouts. I'd love to find out. If you do give this a try PLEASE let me know how it has worked out.

And... People... the endorphins you get from the long cardio make it all worth while! Trust me.

I Have The Power!

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

My weight has been going down all week. Good? I'm not so sure and at this point I find it a bit baffling. I'm pretty thin and I don't need to be thinner. When I first started blogging I wrote this about my cousin and her badass physique. My fancy scale gave her a metabolic age of twelve.. she is 38. Yeah that is badass. At the time I still had a bit of weight to lose and it gave me a metabolic age of 27...I am 31. Well I'm sure you can see where this is going.. today I received the same reading... I too have a metabolic age of 12. And shit I probably weighed 110 when I was twelve for crying out loud!

So at this point my metabolism is through the roof and I am eating more than 2000 calories a day and even with taking 5 days off from exercise last week I still lost weight. This is my decision: And it is with some mixed feeling I say this but I am going to suspend my food diaries until I find my weight goes up above 113. I feel mixed because I am a huge proponent of keep a food diary and I truly believe it is something ANYONE can do EVERYDAY to keep themselves on track. I think it is a simple, free way to monitor your food intake. And I think for some people it may be motivating to see that I do this even on bad days and eventhough I no longer need to lose any weight. It is the number one reason I have steadily lost 1-2 lbs a week(48 lbs) for 8 straight months (no joke)... and remember that is not counting the 20 lbs I lost after having the baby in February.. this is just the weight that didn't come off on its own. Having said all that I am a very conscious eater and I think at this point in order to get to a place where I need to be calorie wise I need to eat more than I would if I was tracking it.

Right now I'm going to focus on enjoying the holidays and eating a balanced diet and eating what I need to eat to be satisfied. I think my trip to Disney was eye opening for me in that it made it pretty clear that with a certain level of activity food really isn't so much of an issue (for me). So my plan for December is to enjoy Christmas guilt free...not to eat like a pig... but not to obsess over exactly how many ounces are in each slice of cake either. I am, however, going to recommit to my fitness goals as I do believe that, for me, this is the much bigger indicator of whether or not I am going to be able to maintain my weight. For the next few weeks I'm going to strive to hit 3 long cardio workouts and start adding the pilates back in.

Believe It!

So when I woke up this morning this little number was waiting for me...

After a little digestion it seems I didn't gain ANY weight after all. Interestingly Mr F didn't gain any weight on our trip either.

So here is the take away from this... get a pedometer before your next vacation! Obviously it helped that Disney World allows for a pretty active vacation... but with a pedometer anyone can do this. Before we left I wore the pedometer around on my average day and then added in how far I walk during my workouts. For me this equaled 6.5 miles on my typical "workout" day. So I knew that in order to keep my weight in check, when I was most likely eating above my typical calorie limits, I would need to average at least 6.5 miles a day. Well it worked. Now if you are staying at a resort with an exercise facility you maybe able to keep your workouts going.. but if you are traveling about this was a super easy and effective way of staying aware and accountable for my activity. This is especially important when you know you won't have as much control (or want to) of your food. Keep in mind that you need to account for both your typical daily activity on top of your workout activity levels!

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

(Click on the pics to see me up close and personal)

July 20th, 131 pounds, 31% body fat

August 8th, 126 pounds, 28.8% body fat

August 15th, 123.8 pounds, 28.6% body fat

August 28th, 121.6 pounds, 26.9% body fat

September 6th, 121.2 pounds, 26.0% body fat

September 19th, 117.2 pounds, 25.7% body fat

November 15th, 111.8 pounds, 21.9% body fat



*************************************************************
This is what I did:
I changed one habit at a time.
Keep a food diary (every damn day)
Used Calorie Count Plus to establish a calorie range.
Count all calories (heavily using my cheap kitchen scale and CCP for additional counts)
Eat six small meals a day (300, 200, 300, 200, 4-500, 2-300)
Cut out liquid calories (except my cup of coffee).. oh and no "diet drinks" either
Keep treats on hand at all times (that I can control myself with)
Chew gum after meals to give me the "sweet finisher" I crave
Accepted the fact that working out is my "me time"
Exercised 5-6 days a week for an hour (I walk steep hills on my treadmill, ie intervals)
Stayed within my calorie range every damn day (seriously in 4 months I have gone over maybe 4 times total)
Did not take a weekend off or go out to eat (unless you have a serious plan)
Did not get discouraged by plateaus.. if you plug along they will break

Judge For Yourself

I know a lot of you have never seen me as anything but someone who posts photos looking like this...

And since I only started my blog 3 months ago it may be hard to believe that I am not this thin by nature. I fear that the lower my weight is the more credibility I may be losing in your eyes.
So I wanted to post this photo.. of course I only have a hard copy so bear with me...

I call this photo "Fat Mom".
If I didn't work hard to lose my postpartum weight this IS what I would look like. In fact after gaining as much as I did this pregnancy who knows I may have been even heavier. Because although I have never had a "weight problem" I have always liked to eat and not liked to exercise. And no matter how you put your weight on you still have to lose it by doing the same kind of work. Some women are blessed and they lose all their "baby weight" without doing anything. They can wear their *regular* jeans as soon as they give birth. Some of us will not lose our baby weight...period... unless we kick our own asses. This is my proof. Two pregnancies... two different postpartum weight loss approaches.

My "Fat Mom" picture was taken in the spring of 2003 when Kid was 7 months old and I weighed around 137 pounds. I had lost 30 pounds naturally within the first month postpartum... and then.. not another pound.
Baby is now 8 months old and I weigh 112 pounds. I am 5' 3". From day one I have been on a mission and I have lost 66 pounds (14 under my pre-pregnancy weight).

Finally Someone Does What I Tell Them To!

My Mother who originally started emailing her food diary, along with my friend and I, 7 months ago has finally gotten on board for real this time and has seen a 3 pound loss this past week because of it! Heretofore she had been intermittently sending out her food diaries and had lost a few pounds and then regained them over the last couple of months but she wasn't really committed she was just going through the motions. She didn't really change how she ate or what she ate, just how much (some of the time), and she didn't change her activity level. Now finding herself back where she started and facing a big trip to Japan in a few weeks she wanted to get back on board and lose 10 lbs. So this time I asked her if she would just do what I told her to do and try it for a month. She agreed. We've gone through this more than once so I was SHOCKED when she actually followed through.. okay she didn't the first week but she did the second week and lost three pounds.
My mom is a classic emotional eater.. uses food to self medicate really... and she is a binge eater so some of the things that I do we had to cut out of her plan in order to keep her from sabotaging. Typically I'm a big believer in treats, but my mom can't have a box of chocolates or a freezer full of cookie dough and have just one. I am fortunate that this isn't my eating MO! So here is what I told her. I wanted her to weigh everything and count calories whenever possible... even when she thinks she knows them double check. (In the past she has been big on telling me "I know how many calories are in ____" ...well that's great... I do too but I measure and weigh to be sure I'm accurate. Let's face it you are only going to lose weight if you know exactly how much you are eating... *thinking* you know is how you got where you are! I wanted her to eat a 300 calorie breakfast... not one freaking banana cause she's not really hungry... "but I guess you were hungry 2 hours later when you had to get lunch at Taco Bell... eat the damn breakfast!" (Yes this is really how we talk to each other) So she is essentially to follow my plan minus the dessert, she says she doesn't need it. So she's eating 300, 100, 300, 100, 400.. or there abouts and yes I know it is 1200 calories, she is 55 and her metabolism is shot! I also wanted her to workout for at least an hour a day preferably an hour and a half. Boy oh boy did she balk at that. But I said, as I have many times, "what you have been doing hasn't worked I really think you need to exercise a lot to pick up your metabolism."

She attempted to submit some dieting clauses... these may sound familiar:

#1 "I Can't Do That"
As for the longer exercise she gave every excuse imaginable... including that the dogs get too tired after 45 minutes... the dogs?!?! "Drop the damn dogs off at home and keep walking!"... "Oh" she said.... I'm serious about the exercise folks, 45 minutes is not enough, try kicking out 60 plus minutes of cardio 5 times a week and you will see HUGE results.

#2 "What About A Day Off"
"You don't think you deserve a weekend off after a good week" My mom asked. "What?! stop messing with me mom!" I shouted into the phone. "I'm not...I'm serious" she said sheepishly. "NO I don't!" I retorted... You see it is something as simple as thinking you deserve a reward for being good that is indicitive of a sabotager. Your reward for being good is not being fat! If you allow yourself to earn treats... you are going to earn your way to one thing... your old goddamn lifestyle. Weight loss will only work if you change the way think about your relationship with food.

#3 "I Can't Start Today..."
Then she told me she couldn't start right away because she had a whole bunch of food in the garden. "Throw it out" "I will not throw it out I can't throw out perfectly good food" "Mom when you are a financially stable overweight woman you are still throwing it out... you are just throwing it in your gut instead of the trash" (light bulb moment people... take it in) I then told her to give it to a food pantry which she agreed she could do.

In the end she took notes and agreed to try it my way for the next month. Okay so her first week she was still challenging me... what else is new? Then she came to my house and noticed how much thinner I am now and said "I want a piece of that" went home and sucked it up and tried it my way... and what do you know?... boom... three pounds lighter! Let me just say this, I am incredibly proud of my mom. She sabotages herself for a living... and it is deep rooted! She said after she weighed in (only once a week) she was so elated and felt so proud that when she went to play bridge (a temptation disaster waiting to happen) she stopped on the way and had a double hamburger (330 cal) so she wouldn't be hungry and she could be in control of her calorie intake. This was a huge victory for her, typically she would skip lunch and then figure she could have all the snacks to make up for it. This time she felt in control and didn't give into the snacky temptations and left there feeling better than ever. Once you get going it is an upward spiral... control begets control. Try it! If my mom can do it you can do it. Give it one week. You can do anything for one week. This is not starvation... this is not impossible.. this is accounting for what you eat and exercising... that is all.

Well Call Me Astounded!

With a fair amount of hesitancy I stepped on the scale this morning and REJOICE I am actually down another .2 pounds bringing me to my all time low of ...

What a relief! Let me tell you there is just a wee bit of pressure when you post your weight loss in such a public format! I was already thinking through how a little weight gain was just another challenge to post about... but I am thrilled that that can all stay hypothetical at this point!

As you know I was very nervous about venturing outside of my controlled food environment and then with not working out.. I was fully expecting to go up a little. So maybe my metabolism is finally picking up?! I didn't go hog wild... when everyone else were eating bagels I only had half...I didn't eat most of the side dishes... but I did eat plenty of cake! I managed to keep my food diaries going (all but the last day) with the best calorie guesses I could make and was eating about 400 calories more a day. This might be a weight I could maintain at after all.

As an interesting side note Mr Furious gained 4 pounds. And not that I root for his dieting demise but it just goes to show that I have acclimated to actually eating in appropriate portions and eating consciously. On our drive to the airport he actually shoved a Grands Biscuit into his face (I mean in like literally 2 bites people!) and then turned into a Dunkin Donuts and walked out with a Big 'Ol Blueberry muffin. I said to him "just because you shove something in your mouth doesn't make it calorie free... are you even hungry?" Mr F responded by flashing a sheepish grin. That is going to be his hardest habit to break... he is quick to reach for an immediate hunger solution but often makes an impulsive and unsatisfying choice and then still wants to eat something else.

I was just watching the Biggest Loser from the other day and there is a female contestant who gave in to a food temptation and was just jamming food down. She ate an entire cereal bar in one bite! True... that was extreme... but it did remind me of how a lot of people approach eating... especially Mr F! There are times when I'm about to serve dinner and he is reaching for a snack because he is crashing and can't contemplate waiting even 2 minutes for food. But you better believe he eats just as much at dinner 2 minutes later as he would have. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I used to be the same way... I just used soda as my quick fix. Now I eat about 6 times a day. I eat 300, 200, 300, 200, 400, 200 calorie meals or snacks in a typical day. I am rarely hungry and when I am ... I eat. I don't drink any calories except in my morning coffee.. and I have learned to have an energy bar in the car where I need it! I almost never *crash* anymore. And it really isn't hard to do this, you just need to find your treats and snacks and stick with them.. so you can stop sabotaging yourself.

Brace Yourselves!

I'm actually going to attempt to write a serious and meaningful post for a change.


Unfortunately Baby Furious the Wonder Baby just decided to start officially cruising... as in walking around furniture, etc... she is just over 7 months old.. this is ridiculous... so I may have to start and stop a bit as I monitor her constant hjinks. She has also just realized she can pull our tablecloth off which is potentially disastrous!


So today I stepped on the scale as I do everyday and lo and behold I weigh 118.8! I almost started crying. When I started on this journey I picked 118 as a *lofty* idealistic goal and here I am 7 months later and I did it! I have surpassed my pre-pregnancy weight by 8 pounds. I put on my size six jeans and no muffin top! They are actually shockingly a little too big! I have not been able to fit in my clothes and I kind of stopped trying them on so as not to feel disappointed every time...so this was a very pleasant surprise.


And before you all start to hate me I'll through this shot in too.... Let's just say I did not inherent any collagen! Thankfully for all those who will never again wear a bikini there is a new little thing out there called the Tankini... God Bless the person who came up with that one!

So anyway here is the deal having kids pretty much *destroyed* my body. And I know some of you will say "you look great" well that is easy to say when it isn't your body. Somethings in life just aren't fair and this is one of those things. When you don't look like *yourself* it is very hard to have a positive self image. And it is very hard to think you will ever be able to do anything about that. I mean I spent a lot of time between children thinking... well this is as good as I'm ever going to get. And I know a lot of people feel the same way.. and it might not be your stretched out stomachs holding you back, but your thighs, or chin, man boobs... whatever! But I'm here as proof that you can feel better and you can look better. These albatrosses that we carry around are only as big as we let them be. My stomach will never look like it did before children and I could hold on to this fact and beat myself up about it all I want... I can't go back in time and have different parents conceive me and bestow me with more stretchable skin... this is it ..this is life...this is my skin. But for years I didn't really believe I could feel good enough about my body to make a commitment to getting in shape.
Now I've never had a weight problem but sweet jesus I have felt inadequate or badly about myself most of my life. When I gained 42 pounds with my first pregnancy I was shocked, when my stomach got stretched out I was devastated. It took me over a year to lose the weight and then I started training with a pilates instructor twice a week... but I never did cardio. This allowed me to slim down and get pretty strong and I told myself I was in shape... but I also told myself that the fatty deposit in my stomach was due to my skin issue and not a lack of exercise. I completely bought into that. I really believed this was as good as I could get and I would need a tummy tuck to look any better. That was until I started watching The Biggest Loser reruns this summer and saw people lose 100+ pounds and plenty of these people had stretchmarks like mine and when they came out at the finale they had washboard stomachs! Sure they had the little extra skin... but it was just skin. And that changed my whole perception of what was possible. I'm never going to be *perfect* but I can strive for something better and I can actually believe that I am capable of looking and feeling better.... and I do.
So PLEASE stop telling yourself you are too busy or stressed out to get in better shape. Stop telling yourself that there is no point... you'll always have cankles or heavy upper arms... there is a point. The point is you can feel better. You can actually look better too. And no it really isn't that hard to do it.. it is just hard to start doing it. It is hard to believe you will stick to something long enough to see results... it is hard to stop lying to yourself. Believe me you are not busier ...or more stressed out... or living on less sleep than I am. You can do this!