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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 { 8 }

More, Please!

By on December 8, 2011 in baby, goals, health, monthly goals

Like I said, I have lots of stuff I want to write about, but if I wait for the posts about the past to be written before I starting writing about now…well, this blog might go extinct!  So I am jumping in with some thoughts about health stuff now.

The first few weeks after I had Alana, I lost weight extremely rapidly.  And it’s a good thing, too – I gained more while pregnant than I planned!   The reasons for the rapid weight loss were, I think, a combination of the increased calorie burn from breastfeeding and the fact that I had a hard time making time to eat.  I know, that probably sounds crazy.  But when you have a newborn who wants to eat every two hours (timed from the start of each feeding, not including actual feeding time…i.e., feeding at 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, etc.) and who wants to be held all. the. time. … well, it doesn’t leave much time for anything.  Much less something that requires two hands.

At about 6 weeks, though, Alana started becoming a bit easier to handle.  She ate less often – every 2-3 hours during the day, but up to 6 hours at night.  And yes, she did the coveted “sleeping through the night” thing at 6 weeks, sleeping 6 hours or more almost every night since then.  (We’re up to 8 hours most nights now.)  We were able to start putting her down for short periods of time (thank God for the swing!).  So my ability to eat regularly returned, and with it my appetite.  All of a sudden I went from not really *feeling* the appetite many say comes along with the breastfeeding calorie burn, to being ravenous almost constantly.

Since then I’ve struggled (and mostly failed) to eat healthily and in normal portions.  And today I realized that I am tired of the negative.  You know – instead of wanting to eat something healthy, feeling like I have to “cut out” something unhealthy.  And I realized that it works better for me mentally to be proactive – to add things in – to pursue the positives that I want in my life, rather than avoiding the negatives.  So here’s what I’m going to do: start setting “positive” goals.  New goals each month or so based on what I need to work on.  Right now, that means adding things in to my diet that I am lacking, such as lots o’ veggies!

Here are my current goals, which are subject to change without notice blah blah blah:

  • Try to eat at least 5 servings of veggies every day.
  • Eat breakfast within 2 hours of waking up every day.
  • Drink 10+ glasses of milk every day.
  • Walk or work out 5 days/week.

I am hoping that adding in the healthy stuff will naturally start to “crowd out” the less healthy stuff.

What do you think?

Comments { 6 }

Post-Baby Goals

By on August 15, 2011 in goals, pregnancy, running

Yes, it has again been too long since I posted.  And you know what?  I think I’m going to quit saying that over and over again every time I do post.  I know y’all are hanging in there with me and understand that life sometimes doesn’t allow us to post when we want to.  So this is the last time until I forget or feel too guilty again that I will be commenting on this pattern.  :)

Pregnancy is pretty amazing and also quite strange.  I am now 35.5 weeks pregnant; my due date for those of you crazy people who don’t remember that the world revolves around this is September 15.  I can now see the baby moving from outside my body and it’s oddly reminiscent of that scene in Alien…you know the one I’m talking about, right?  Think belly-squirming-alien right before it pops out – that’s what it looks like sometimes!

So far I am blessed to feel pretty darned good.  I do get occasional aches and pains, but overall I am feeling amazing given the fact that I’m 30 pounds heavier (within the healthy range of 25-35 pounds of weight gain for pregnancy) and carrying a baby that is now roughly 6 pounds heavy.  I know that as my due date approaches this might change, but right now I’m just feeling really thankful for how NOT miserable my pregnancy has been.  I know I’m lucky and that many women have a much rougher time being pregnant.

Strange as it might seem, although I am not in a rush for my pregnancy to be over, I have been thinking a LOT lately about my post-pregnancy goals.  Some of you may remember that I signed up for the Warrior Dash and committed to running Ragnar only to find out that I was pregnant and would be unable to complete either of those events.  I don’t begrudge my baby girl either of these things, but having watched my friends complete both events recently has really whetted my appetite for getting back to it once I get back into shape!

So I’m here to say, I’ve got me some goalz, people.  I’ll write about this more in the future, but right now here is the brief sketch of what I’m thinking:

  • Ease into walking (with baby, of course) as quickly as my body allows after I deliver.
  • Once I feel up to it and have my doctor’s clearance, I will start P90X again for strength training.
  • Once I feel up to it/doc’s approval, I will ease back into jogging.  I can’t wait for this, even though I know I’ve lost a LOT of my running fitness and will have to start slow!
  • Warrior Dash and Ragnar are roughly 9 months after my due date…so I’m thinking participating in both events might be in my future.  9 months post-partum seems reasonable for this, no?

Anyhow, just wanted to share what’s on my mind.  I’m still keeping up with y’all via your blogs and have even *gasp* been spotted on Twitter recently!   Would love to hear from you here or there if you want to say hi.  :)

Comments { 10 }

Something to Chew on…Time for Tough Love

By on February 4, 2011 in Betsy, consistency/commitment, eating, End of Overeating, food, goals, guest post, health, plan, Uncategorized

Without further ado, please enjoy today’s guest post from our friend Betsy!

I’ve tried being gentle and loving with myself when it comes to my weight loss and healthy-living efforts, but all that has gotten me is a warm-fuzzy feeling coupled with bouts of self-loathing and desperation, so the hell with that. I’m resorting to tough love. To help guide me on this never-before-traversed-tough-love path I’ve created and implemented a plan based on the advice outlined in the two books (Kessler and Beck) I discussed in my last post.

What are the goals of this plan?

  1. To eliminate the chaos that surrounds mealtimes.
  2. To break my desire for, and emotional dependence on hyperpalatable foods.
  3. To reframe my relationship with food: i.e. food is for fuel (family, friends and activity are for reward and comfort).

What is the plan? It’s pretty basic because if I set too many rules I tend to forget about them or lose track of them or mix them up and reverse them and return to my habitual eating. So “don’t eat after 8PM” becomes “eat with abandon after 8PM.” So my plan goes like this:

  1. ELIMINATE all sugar, white flours, pastas, junk food, cakes, chips, processed foods, and fast food.
  2. Set mealtimes in advance and eat ONLY at those times.
  3. Spend a few minutes each day creating the next day’s meal plan.
  4. Select a few meal options for each meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack) and eat them again and again and again.
  5. Complete Beck’s Success Skills (Stage 1) for seven consecutive days and then assess. (I need to assess today!)

I have to tell you that I am VERY proud of myself for including the word and action “ELIMINATE” in my plan because I usually lean towards the healthy living camp that frowns upon eliminating food types as it is said that can lead to a nasty mentality of deprivation thus leading to cravings and overindulgence. But alas, I’ve tried (and tried and tried and tried) to keep all foods fair game, in moderation, and that has not worked for me. At all. So in a moment of bravery and tough love, I have given up those foods that have comforted me for 30+ years. I have finally admitted to myself that reaching my goal (of being a fit, healthy person) will not be attained by consuming my trigger foods. It just isn’t gonna happen that way for me.

In preparation for launching my new plan I held a multi-day event called The Great Food Funerals of 2011. During this time I enjoyed my go-to comfort foods, thanked them for the years of support, told them I no longer needed them, and released them and asked them to release me. I realize this sounds ridiculous but I am one for grand gestures when it comes to life changing moments, and this farewell to my food faves deserved a proper send off.

It’s day eight since I implemented this plan and I’m finding Beck’s whole “NO CHOICE” approach a huge relief. The moment my mind starts going down that road of trying to justify giving into a food craving that isn’t in my day’s eating plan, I take a deep breath and say, “NO CHOICE.” And then there is a blissful silence. My mind doesn’t try to tell me I deserve it, or just this once won’t be a big deal, or that I should eat it because I want it and I’m an adult and get to make my own decisions so just go ahead and enjoy it. When I say, “NO CHOICE” all of that chatter evaporates. It’s so simplistic that I’m amazed it’s working for me.

I’m also amazed because I found this approach tedious and difficult just a few months ago. Obviously, I wasn’t ready to make these changes and so I resisted them with fervor akin to a televangelist. But today I’m ready because I am tired of expending all of my energy fighting with myself in a battle over food. It’s just so darn tedious to constantly be engaged in a battle of wills with myself. It’s also quite absurd and such a self-centered use of my precious life energy. So enough. Enough.

Comments { 9 }

Well Shoot…

By on January 14, 2011 in 4-Hour Body, blogging, goals, running

I guess that day turned into almost a week!  I can’t believe it’s been that long since I’ve posted.  No real reason, other than being swamped at work and keeping up with all of the other important stuff in life – working out, sleeping, etc.

Thanks for all the grace and for catching me up on you in response to my post about Taking a Day!  One thing I have had a chance to do this week is get caught up on all the blogs I read and leave a few comments.  And I love what I’m reading.  Many of you set new goals at the beginning of the year (whether you call them resolutions or not!) and it’s so fun to hear your goals and watch y’all put a plan in action to make it happen.

My goals?  Always evolving, but as I mentioned earlier in the year, they will include lots of running.  Some fun races coming up, including the Valentines Day Dash, the St. Patty’s Day Dash, the Warrior Dash (lots of dashing going on here!), and more.

The 4-Hour Body slow carb diet is doing it’s job and I’ve lost almost half of what I gained over the last month.  I should be back to  my low in a few more weeks which feels fantastic.  I already feel lighter and less puffy, which I credit to staying away from sugar and other white stuff!

So…yeah…I’m back in one of those “boring” phases.  Where I’m not having an epiphany a minute, which is what December felt like for me.  Where I’m not struggling to stay on course with healthy eating.  Which, to be honest, leaves me without a whole lot to tell you here!  I don’t want to write just to write – I want to write because I have something to say.  To share my heart.

Today?  My heart is here: heading to my second ever CrossFit session.  Sleepy.  Excited for the year.  Wishing I had about 3 more hours in each day (and a personal assistant).  But?  Loving life.  It feels good to be where I’m at.

How about you?  Are you in a good place right now or do you need help?  If we can let the comments be anything today, let’s make them a place we can turn to each other for help.  Bring it on, friends!

Comments { 7 }