here we go again

time to start the weight watchers! i just had a baby a month ago and i'm ready to start firming up and ready for the extra fat to start coming off. i went to yoga for the first time since the birth on thursday and weighed myself... i have about 10 pounds to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. i was a little disappointed when i weighed myself... since i ran my whole pregnancy, i didn't think i would have that much weight to lose at this point, but i probably should remember that it's only been a month since i delivered my baby and i AM getting older. sigh. but all that running didn't go to waste... i am still in relatively good shape so the transformation shouldn't be too painful. :) here are my goals for the next few months:

1) reach my pre-pregnancy weight by march 31

2) stay within my weight watchers point value every week

3) no sugar in my diet for 6 weeks (until april 6)

4) run at least 4 days a week

5) practice yoga at least 2 days a week

6) weight train at least 2 days a week

7) get down to 125 pounds by may 30

8) get a time 1:50 or better for the see jane run half marathon

i really hate posting my weight on here, but i feel like it helps me have a sense of accountability. so for now, i will post my weight on the sidebar.

wish me luck!

Weigh In

So I finally weighed myself tonight, and I am down another 4 lbs. Very good news. I think it would go a little faster if I was really a stickler with my points. I have been really good this week, but in the past, I was mostly just subconsciously counting points and not really eating sweets. But I have been running a lot of miles, so I think that has really helped get my weight down. The best thing right now is that my boobs are a lot smaller, I think back to my normal size, and I can button up my cute spring coat that I haven't been able to button for quite some time. Smaller boobs just look better on me. So I am happy that I am getting the weight off. Running has been so great, I am getting faster and feeling really strong. All positive things!

Update

So, things are still going well on the weight loss bandwagon. I am not sure how much weight I have lost, as I don't have a scale, which is probably a good thing, so I don't obsess over every little pound. But I am feeling good and feeling smaller. I went running with a friend the other day who hadn't seen me in a while and she noticed that I had lost weight, so that's gotta be good news. I am not being super strict with my points counting, because I find that it kind of messes with my head when I do, but when I don't think about it as much, I don't feel the need to eat as much. I just try to keep my goal points in the back of the head, and make a mental note of about how many points I am eating. I have noticed a difference in my eating, as in I am not eating a lot of sweets, and am not eating a lot of unhealthy snacks. I try to make the most of the everything I eat. And what is really awesome, is that I baked a cheesecake, sugar cookies, and pumpkin cookies and only ate 1 pumpkin cookie out of all of that. It was for a bake sale in our building. Oh, I guess I did buy one of my own sugar cookies later on, so I had 1 sugar cookie as well. That's pretty darn good though for someone with a sweet tooth like me.

I am also in week 6 of my marathon training, and it has been going well. I think this is making the biggest difference with my weight loss. Last time I trained for a marathon, I was nursing, so I didn't lose a lot of weight, but this time around, I feel like weight is just melting away, which is great. I love how quickly my legs tone up when I start being really consistent with my running. Seeing results like that definitely help me stay motivated. I love seeing proof that what I am doing is actually making a difference.

I have been running mostly on my own, which is tough at times, but I always do my long runs with friends. The only downside to that, is that they are all faster than I am, so I am always pushing myself. But I am keeping up, and still finishing strong, and that is all that matters.

Ok, so that is all for now, just wanted to do a little update. I will try to weigh myself this week and post how many pounds I have left to lose.

Progress...

So things have been going well so far. Running has been great, and I am loving getting back into my training. I love when you get in the groove in the middle of a run, and it just feels so good. I have decided that I love running in cold weather. If there were never snow on the ground, it would be great all the time. My first week of weight watchers was great. I am now in Spokane for my brother in law's wedding, so I am not counting points for the next week and a half, but am trying to be wise in my food choices. I am doing ok with the sweets, although I have had some, but am not going crazy AT ALL like I would normally do, which I am proud of. There is so much snow and ice on the ground here, so running hasn't been possible. I have some pilates videos that I need to get out and do... I have so far just been revelling in vacation life, but I am thinking today. I feel kind of gross and lazy, like I need to be active. I am hoping to use my sister in laws gym pass to do some running, even though I seriously hate running on treadmills. Oh well.

Probably the best thing about my trip so far was stepping on the scale for the first time in a few months. I just assumed that I was at the same weight I was the last time I stepped on. But I was NOT... I was 5.5 lbs LESS. It was such great news to find out that I only have 11.5 lbs to lose to get to pre-pregnancy weight, instead of 17. I'm not sure if any of that was weight loss from last week, but I assume if it was, it was just a pound or two. So anyway... good news. Now I just have to make sure that I don't gain all that back from this week and a half with family.

Wish me luck with my exercise... it's always hard to tear myself away from everyone, especially when it is snowy.

Day 4

Just checking in... I have decided after only 4 days, that I love weight watchers. Those who know me, know that I love my sweets. Well, the good news is that I don't have to cut them out. As long as I stay within my points allowance, I am good to go. I think this will make it so that I can stay on this longer. I love that you can really eat whatever, just maybe not as much as normal. Like tonight for dinner, I had a hotdog with the rest of the fam, which you would think I shouldn't be able to have, but as long as I stay within my points... you get the picture. I even had 2 brownies for dessert last night and one tonight. I am not saying this is easy... it is amazing how much mindless munching I do, so I have really cut back on that and focused on having 3 meals and usually some sort of snack. The snacking is really the hardest part. When I get in the mood for munchies, I want salty chips or pretzels, or buttery popcorn. Instead, I usually turn to pickles or baby carrots, which are both filling and zero points. If anyone who has done WW before knows of any low points snacks, meals, and/or desserts, send them my way.

It is time

Evening everyone... it's been awhile. I am starting my new years resolution early, as we are not around family, and really have no Christmas goodies to eat up, and will probably have a very low key new years, so I am not going to be too tempted with treats. I am in great need of losing 17 pounds. My ultimate goal is to lose 27 pounds, which is my dream, yet attainable weight. But I only need to lose 17 to get to my pre-pregnancy weight.

What am I doing to get the pounds off you ask? Weight watchers (trying for the first time), running, and pilates. I am very pumped to start in on my new regime. Today I started with about 40 minutes of pilates, and then followed it with a nice 4 mile run (during which I encountered my first dog attack... ok, so it wasn't really that dramatic, as he had a metal muzzle on, but he would have bit me if he didn't have it on... he was running straight at me, and slammed the muzzle into my back. It was a little scary, but not too bad). It was my first run in a few weeks, so it was a good work out.

My goal is to have the weight off by May, so I will keep you posted with my feelings and progress.

To start off... like I said, I am new to weight watchers, so I am still learning how it works and all that. But after my first day, I have been surprised at how much the little things add up, like pretzels and olive oil. But I didn't do too bad, and only had to use 1.5 of my weekly allowance points, thanks to my activity points.

Until next time...

no sweets for me!

Project "no sweets" is well underway, and going fabulously. I have actually been doing so great. I try to just take it one day at a time. I actually don't even have a specific date in mind as to when I will start eating then again, so technically, I could eat sweets tomorrow, which I won't, but it helps me to know that I can. Everyday, I just say: "I am not going to eat sweets today", and it is much less overwhelming, than saying I am not going to eat sweets for the rest of the summer, or whatever. It has only been a week and a half though, so I will let you know how things continue!

Week 1...

I had a great first week of workouts. I got up early 2 out of the 4 days, and the other 2 days ended up being pretty low key for the fam, so it wasn't a problem to go a little later. I finished off my week with an awesome 5 miler. I know that sounds wimpy, but this was my first post baby 5 miler, and it went really well. The perfect mixture of comfortable and hard, with some good hills throughout. When it got hard, I tried really hard to concentrate on my breathing, and soon enough, things felt good again. I was even able to speed up a little toward the end and still finish really strong. So, I would say my first week was a success... I am happy to be running, as it really is my "me time", and I love the feeling of getting back in shape. 

When I came home, Nate took Asher to the store with him, so I was able to stretch, shower, and clean up a little, so when they came home and Asher had a little "moment", I was able to be calm and turn it into a happy moment! I have found that when I don't have to do everything by myself with the kids, I am a much happier, and all around better mom!

Project Mama's Coach

I am so PuMpED!!!!

My new "personal trainer", just sent me my first week of workouts for next week, and I am so excited!

My friend Keenan, sent me an email telling me about her cousin who is starting a business, Project Mama's coach, making training schedules for mamas who want to get back into shape with running, and train for a race. I was so excited that I was one that she chose to work with for FREE! I didn't realize this, but she is a serious runner. She came in second place, women's overall, in the Carlsbad marathon before she had her baby. Wow! She sent me a questionare about my running and what my goals were, what races I was planning on doing, etc. From that, she has made a training program just for little ol' me. I feel like this will really help me to reach the goals I have set for myself, as well as be accountable. I know that Kayla is putting a lot of time and thought into my program, and so I feel that I need to uphold my end of the bargain, and actually put the program to the test, so she can see the results. My training starts on Monday, June 2nd, and starting then, I am going to wake up at 6:00 am to run. This will be a huge challenge for me, as I still wake up once during the night with Sayer, but feel like he is close to sleeping through the night, and if I go to bed at a decent hour, I should be fine. Plus, I feel this is necessary in order to actually get the running done. 

The month of June will be focusing primarily on building a base for my training, and increasing my mileage to prepare to do some speed work. I know this is going to be good for me, as I have been hesitant to start building my miles for some reason, but know that I can do it!

So anyway, wish me luck, and look forward to a new post in a week, with my progress and feelings from my first week!

noooo!!!

seriously a sad day for me. my favorite go-to, healthy food was NOT at my local costco today. i LOVE this stuff. i eat it almost every day for lunch. really scrumptious. i found basically the same stuff at trader joe's last week, but it's more than twice as much... i could buy a package of six boxes at costco for eight bucks. ONE box at trader joe's is $2.79. yikes! at least i still have the option to enjoy it at all though, right?

what about you guys? what's your favorite easy, healthy food? i'm going to need some new ideas. :)