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First Run

By on February 3, 2012 in running, Vibrams

It’s 55 & sunny in Seattle today (and tomorrow, and the next day!) so although I was prepared to go to the gym, I just couldn’t resist being outside instead.  I came home to get my girl for a walk, but she was napping (still is, in fact) with her Daddy.  So, what’s a girl to do?  Sunshine, breezy cool weather, Vibrams on my feet…I just had to go for a run.

I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Actually, that’s a lie; I had very low expectations.  I thought it would be miserable.  I thought I’d have to walk most of my “usual” neighborhood run.  I thought I’d be in in pain and gasping for breath.  Yeah, I need to work on my evaluation of myself, right?  Another post for another time.

Here’s a few words/phrases to describe the run:

  • Short.
  • Hard.
  • Beautiful.
  • Long overdue.
  • Sweaty.
  • Man I missed this.
  • My calves are going to hate me tomorrow.
  • I should have eased back into running.
  • I should have eased back into running in my Vibrams.
  • My boobs hurt.  Sorry if that’s TMI, but anyone who has breast-fed while running…okay, not simultaneously in time but you know what I mean, will tell you that it’s not always comfortable!
  • The soles of my feet are tender.
  • It’s harder to run when I’m heavier.  Just call me Captain Obvious.
  • I can’t wait to do it again.  So long as the weather is nice.

Bottom line is this: I did it.  I ran more than I walked.  It took me about 6 minutes longer than my “normal” pre-baby time.  It was harder on my muscles than on my lungs.  And I don’t know why the heck I waited so darn long.

Comments { 5 }

And…Take Two

By on January 23, 2012 in eating, Paleo, plan, planning, working out

…wherein I confess that I fell off the “transitioning to Paleo” wagon about a week after I hopped on!

So guess what?  Apparently when you plan to change your entire way of eating, some planning is required in order for that to be a success.  Go figure!

Also, news flash?  Babies take up a LOT of time.  Where BB (“Before Baby”) I could have zipped out to Costco or the grocery store any time to stock up, and had time to cook most nights (I didn’t say I actually cooked most nights, just that I had time!), now … not so much.

So, yeah.  I made it about a week before my (a) failure to plan/cook/shop ahead and (b) inability to make time for such things mid-week derailed me.

Oh, and then there was the GSS2012 (Great Snow Storm of 2012) wherein we were “snowed in” for a week.  And by snowed in, I mean we had 12+ inches of snow and we live on a hill, so although the roads were mostly fine about a mile from our house, there was no getting out of our neighborhood unless I wanted to slip and slide in my car like I was on skis.

So, yeah.  Crap, I already said that.

Anyhoo, in an effort to be more realistic, I am taking this week and coming weekend to do my shopping/planning/cooking ahead.  In the meantime, I am back to no sugar starting now.  Each day I will do one thing to prepare for my change in food choices.  Except today, when I am going back to the gym.  For the first time since Alana was born.  I’m signing us up for a family membership and I will break a sweat.  That’s more important to me, today, than anything else.

Here’s the plan:

Tuesday: Costco after work.
Wednesday: Cook one Paleo-friendly meal, freeze at least 4 servings of same.
Thursday: Grocery store after work.
Friday: Same as Wednesday.
Saturday: Cook 2-3 meals, freeze, also prep snacks for the week.
Sunday: Same as Saturday.

Workout-wise:

Monday (today): Gym
Tuesday: Wii Fit
Wednesday: Gym
Thursday: Mid-day walk (little rain in forecast)
Friday: Rest (I have a hearing that day and like to get home early on Fridays if I can!)
Saturday: Gym
Sunday: Not sure, walk with hubs hopefully?

How about you peeps?  How are you all doing?  Please don’t say “I told you so” on the whole failing to plan is planning to fail thingy.  :)

Gratuitous baby pic:

Comments { 3 }

Baby Steps

By on January 4, 2012 in eating, food, goals, health, Paleo, weight

So it’s no secret that I had a baby in September.  I had just gotten under 200 pounds for the first time in my adult life when I found out I was pregnant!  Although I imagined gaining weight would feel tough on me mentally/emotionally, it really wasn’t.  Not that I wanted to go crazy, mind you.  But knowing that my body was nourishing my baby made me surprisingly okay with the weight gain.  I was right on schedule for a very healthy weight gain until about the last month of my pregnancy, when I gained weight more quickly, resulting in a total weight gain of about 45 pounds – gulp!

Right after I gave birth, I started losing weight like CRAZY!  Taking care of a newborn full-time (and the resulting loss of two-handed-ness) combined with breast-feeding meant that I had lost nearly 30 pounds in 6 weeks.  Then I went back to work.  And, you guessed it, gained some of that weight BACK!  I got my hands back, my milk supply dipped a bit (pumping just isn’t as effective as the baby at keeping the supply going!), I wasn’t taking care of a baby 24×7, and boredom eating in front of the computer snuck back in.

Long story short, I’m still down about 20 pounds from my highest pregnancy weight, but that means I’ve got 25 pounds of pregnancy weight to lose, plus the 10 or so pounds of holiday weight I gained last year right before getting pregnant!  Are you still with me?

In any case, I’m not ready to make weight loss my priority and I’m not going to do anything drastic because that could jeopardize my milk supply, something I’m not willing to do.  But I do want to start making the move towards healthier eating habits both for me and my baby.  So here is my loose plan (subject to revision if anything messes with my milk supply or just doesn’t feel right):

  • Starting yesterday, I am off sugar, grains, and processed foods.  This is with the thought that eventually I will transition to the Paleo way of eating at least 80-90% of the time.
  • Next (probably next week but nothing is set in stone) I will eliminate legumes and reduce my dairy intake.  I’ve decided to do that more gradually (rather than eliminating dairy altogether) and really watch closely to see if/how it impacts my milk production.
  • I am committing to a 20 minute walk 5 days/week.  This is a VERY small step and a time commitment I know I can follow-through on, so if I don’t, it’s just because I chose not to make it a priority.
  • Within the next 4-6 weeks, I will start my one month of unlimited CrossFit.

So far (one day in), being sugar and grain free has been okay.  Of course I think of sugary foods or bread (I love sandwiches!) often and have had to say “no” to several cravings.  And of course, my office just happens to be one of those offices where there are constantly “treat” foods around – literally.  No, seriously: we order candy and Goldfish in bulk from Costco!  And there are cupcakes or donuts or other pastries on an almost daily basis!  But it actually feels really good, right now, to be choosing not to eat those foods.

I remind myself often that this is a choice and nothing is forever.  I can choose to eat ice cream tomorrow if I want to.  But last time I did, I didn’t feel very good.  And ice cream isn’t going to disappear off the planet, so who cares if I go a month (or three) without eating it?

I also remind myself that some things (like ice cream or store-bought cookies) are always available and are not worth a “cheat,” while other things (such as my grandmother’s homemade kibbee with fresh pita bread!) are more rare and are worth the splurge!  So far (again, only one day in) nothing has crossed my path that has been rare enough to reverse my decision to be sugar- and grain-free.

So there you have it.  No resolutions, nothing set in stone.  Just a starting point for a year in which I will continue my journey towards a healthier me.

Comments { 7 }

Happy Life!

By on January 3, 2012 in blogging, family, holiday

Wow, can it be that I might actually start posting on a semi-regular basis again?!  Truth be told, I’ve missed this.  It’s totally selfish, but I love writing my blog.  It helps me process my thoughts and feelings.  And it helps me connect with all of you, which might not sound selfish, but really is because I get so much out of the community of people in this health/fitness/weight loss blogging world.  So no promises, but I think I might be back more often now, so long as nothing goes totally crazy in my life.  I’m even *gasp* starting to comment on blogs again – though rest assured, I’ve been reading all along!   You all have kept me company (thank God for iPhones!) during late night feedings since this baby was born, whether you knew it or not!

How were the holidays for everyone?  We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with my family.  If you know us, you know that “just us” is still a handful – my parents, my sister and her family of 6 (her, her husband, and FOUR kids ages 1.5 to 16!), my brother, me, hubs, and Alana.  So even a “quiet” family Christmas is loud and chaotic at time, which I absolutely love.  We had a traditional Lebanese meal (kibbee for those of you who are familiar) and broke in the new Kinect my parents bought for my sister’s family.

New Years?  Well, the way we spent our New Year’s Eve is perhaps a testament to our new lives.  We were asleep until about 11:58, when my phone blowing up with “Happy New Year!” texts woke us up ever so briefly.  Then I went back to sleep after kissing my hubs and wishing him (and a sleeping Alana) a Happy New Year and hubs got up to play video games all night.  (Yes, we are just about as opposite as can be!)  And really?  It didn’t feel weird or sad or like anything was missing to not stay up partying until midnight to ring in the new year.  It felt just right to do it the way we did.

Another thing that feels just right is that I’ve not had the usually irresistible compulsion need  to scurry around figuring out what my resolutions are this year.  I’ve never been huge on resolutions.  Let me rephrase that; I don’t really feel strongly about them one way or the other.  I think they are a great tool for some people, a stumbling block for others, or something to which you might be completely ambivalent, like me.

I do, however, think it’s useful many times each year to revisit your goals and vision for your life, and that’s something I’ve been thinking about over the last several weeks.  For me, as fun as the holidays are, they also make me a little introspective as I think about my “year in review”…which naturally leads me to think of the coming year.  Broken down into months, weeks, days, hours, and choices.

So look for a post about that soon.  Where I’m headed this week/month/year.  I am not 100% sure what it will look like yet, but I do know some of what I’m committing to THIS week/month.

How about you?  Are you a resolution person?  Or perhaps you took the holidays/New Year as an opportunity to brush off your goals and update a bit?  Please to share!

Gratuitous baby pic:

Comments { 6 }

Random Thoughts

By on December 27, 2011 in baby, beauty/beautiful, body, emotional stuff, self-image, weight

It used to be that I had tons of time to think and write blog posts, but as I’m sure all of you know (whether from experience or because it’s obvious!), having a baby cramps my blogging style takes up a lot of time.  So I find myself cramming almost everything I used to do with my free time into 60 minutes each work day…my commute.  (I still haven’t figured out how to work out during my commute, but more on that later.)

I was driving the other day thinking about a few things, including the fact that I’m nowhere near my goal weight and that I’ve actually gained a few of the pounds I lost right after giving birth.  And I realized that as badly as I want to start losing weight again and as much as I wish that I hadn’t gained those few pounds, I am not berating myself.  I don’t feel like crap about it.  It’s not the end of the world.

Let me say that again: it’s not the end of the world.

Being heavier than I want to be does not make me a bad person.

It doesn’t make me unworthy or unloveable.

And then I realized that one of the side effects, for me, of motherhood (and I think being in a healthy, loving marriage has also contributed to this!) is that I am learning to love myself and my body just as I am.  Oh, sure, there will be days when this doesn’t feel true.  But you know what?  This body grew my little girl for 9 months, nourished her, kept her safe, and brought her into this world (with a little help)!  Damn if that is not the coolest thing ever.  So how could I possibly hate this body of mine?

The answer is that I can’t.  Not right now.  And that’s a new and amazing thing for me.

What events in your life have taught you to love yourself and your body regardless of its current condition?

Gratuitous baby pic:

Comments { 12 }