Weigh in Wednesday: Not too Happy...

I have to admit I am feeling quite defeated. My first weigh in and I gained a pound. :( I am sure I can crack this up to muscle since I've been running at least every other day this week. I am still struggling with the eating thing. I know what worked for me before-counting calories. But the thought of counting calories on top of everything else in my life right now REALLY overwhelms me. It's frustrating because I am not eating BAD stuff- I am a generally healthy eater. So the only thing I can think is that I am still consuming too many calories in general. Ugh. Hoping to have some better news next week from Carrie (my scale!). If all else fails, I am still continuing to run even though that's only half the equation.

Hanging Out in Your Workout Gear: Does it count?!

Well the run thing has been going pretty well, for the most part.

Yesterday, I woke up and decided I would wait a little while to go on my daily run (it's tough to fit around all these stinkin naps my one year old is still taking!). It was a little bit drizzly outside, but not too bad. I decided that when Haden got up from his first nap we would head out. I got all my workout gear on, got Haden dressed and was about to walk out the door when, lo and behold, it was pouring :(.

This exact same scenario happened in the afternoon too. No rain, we get ready, and it pours. Poo.

Does it count as a workout if I just stay in my work out gear all day?!

We never got the chance to go out because of the rain. Guess it's time to purchase that weather shield.

Hubby normally would have helped me out when he got home, but he was off to have a "man weekend" up at his friends cabin in the mountains. He told me it was to celebrate cinco de mayo so all he knew was that there would be sombreros and margaritas involved. Haha! It's good for us to have our own things going on so I wished him well on his way and decided to go to a friends grad party.

The skies are clear today so I finally got  that run in! Again, I say run, but it is more like a really slow jog combined with some fast walking. Ah well...it's exercise, that's all that matters.

On Thursday I made the mistake of telling a "runner" that I would run with her. LOL. I tried warning her that I was still really out of shape. We ran through a wooded trail which was mostly upways. I thought I would die at first, but I am happy to say I survived and hope to return to it sometime when I am a little more prepared to keep up :).

I'm off to visit the farmers market! Hope you have a great weekend.

Accomplishments:Hopes:Goals:Dreams

I feel it is SO vitally important in life to have a "post" like this every once in a while. A time to reflect on the things you've accomplished as well as the things you hope for.

It's funny because I am 24 years old, but I seriously think I have been going through a bit of a quarter life crisis. It's such an odd thing to admit, but this past 6 months things have just kinda hit me: what the heck am I doing HERE?! What am I doing with my life?

I guess I don't want to dive into all the mental thoughts that those kind of questions have arisen in me, but being able to just write out exactly what I'm doing in my life helps me for some reason. I have concluded I am definitely some part A personality in that I really do love lists. Lists are my friend. The other part of me is so not "A"- I think that's kind of funny.

Anyway, enough of that rambling. Here it is!

Accomplishments in the last year (no matter how small!)

-Had conversation with my mother in which she asked me "if you could do anything with your life, what would it be?" my answer: "own my own photography business." Proceeded to file for a business license two months later. It's been quite the journey so far. (www.inspiredjoyphotography.com)

-Successfully baked delicious homemade bread

-Started and (so far) maintained a raised veggie garden

-Ventured down the cloth diaper road and found myself enjoying it!

-Replaced all chemical cleaners with homemade, environmentally and baby safe cleaners

-Started my photo hallway decor

-Finally started couponing again! (haven't done any since Haden was born)

Goals for the next year

-Continue couponing and build a significant stockpile in order to reduce our monthly grocery budget

-Run a couple 5k's

-Finish a half marathon (jogging/walking/crawling...just finish!)

-Harvest my vegetables and plant a fall crop

-Continue to build my photo business and define my unique style

-Lose 20lbs and get in shape!

-Pay off 17,500 in debt. Yes, I just said that. Lord help us!

Goals for the next 5 years

-Have another kiddo

-Rent our current home and find a home in a neighborhood that suits our needs (might take some convincing on kellen's part!)

-Run my own business as my main source of income

-Maybe do another half marathon....

-Stay in shape!

10 years

-Start to build our dream custom home

Ultimate Goal:

BE A SNOWBIRD, travel the world, and have some grandkids :)

*Crawls Out From Under Rock*

Oh, hello, bright and shiny world! It's me- Nicole- remember me? I was that one who was so desperately attempting to lose the baby weight six months ago? In case you hadn't noticed...I went into hibernation for winter. Only problem was, hibernation somehow included ceasing all exercising and also somehow consuming massive amount of calories. Thus, I wake up in Spring weighing just as much as I did when I re-started this journey back in summer.

Ah. Such is life I guess. A big, long, and somewhat unfair journey.

Here's to a re-start of the re-start, and probably not the last!!

It's May 1st and of course I have lots of fun goals in mind for this summer, which include laying on a beach in a bikini and running a half marathon (HA and HA).

A girl's gotta dream, right? ;)

More importantly, I am determined to be semi-prepared for when I actually will be tromping around in a bathing suit, come October, when my mumsy, baby boy, and I head to Maui. It's great motivation to start getting my butt in gear!

I've started running again! (and when I say running, just in the future assume I mean really extremely slow jogging, but I say running to sound more bad a** than I really am, FYI...). It's been a good week of easing back into it and I am happy to report I have not yet thought I was going to pop a lung. I'm trying to take it pretty slow as not to traumatize myself! Mission accomplished so far.

Eating has been a bit of a different story, but it's late and that I will have to save for a later post...

goodnight my friends...

Less.

I have been on this new "healthy eating" journey for three weeks now and I have come to a major favorite milestone of mine that happens whenever you start to downsize your portions. What is that you say? It's so simple but I love it: I get full faster.

I can't tell you how exciting it is that, after a pregnancy of eating for "two" and carrying on the tradition well into my non pregnant state, I finally have begun to feel satisfied on a normal size portion!

This is a big step my friends. It means this whole calorie thing will become much easier. Eating in moderation is a term I associate with long term weight loss. Yay!


This has absolutely nothing to do with this...but here's my baby with his daddy and across his friend Elijah!

Post Baby Weigh in Week 3: whoop whoop!

Hallelujah, thank ya Jesus, I saw a great number on that scale last night...a 4 pound loss!


I'm super excited. This brings my total weight loss down to around 9lbs! Nine pounds in three weeks is something to be proud of...really proud of!

I'm going camping this weekend so there may be some s'mores and possibly a bit of junk involved, but I'm hoping to be fairly good :)

Wrapping up another week!

Weigh in tonight! I'm stoked. I am not going to try to guess whether I will be up or down or how much, we will just have to see! I've had a farely good week. I may or may not have eaten a cookie AND chocolate ice cream last night...hmmm....but I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off yesterday and forgot to eat mostly. So I thought I'd make up those calories. Healthy right? Haha. Oh well.

Kellen and I watched thi documentary called "Fat, Sick, and nearly dead" this weekend. It's about two "large" guys who go on a mission to get healthy. They start by doing a juice only cleanse for 60 days (intense!) and use that as their detox as well as a kick off to a healthy lifestyle. Pretty eye opening! Kellen even enjoyed it and is now begging me to get a juicer...lol! My husband is the most paranoid skinny guy I know. He is self conscious and honestly has no reason to be. But I guess it's cool because he really embraces healthy eating and that makes it easy for me to make better choices.

I will leave you with a pic of little bubba. He is seriously the most animated, happy baby I know...but stick him in a car seat and this is what you get!

My little copycat!

You know what's great motivation to eat healthy? When you know your little one is eating what you eat. Somehow chowing down on cheetohs and pop tarts sounds much less appealing when you know it's going directly to a tiny human.

I think when you're pregnant it's hard to wrap your head around this concept. I know for me, being a first time mom, the thought that there was actually a human inside of me was weird and almost incomprehensible.

But when their born that all changes- oh my gosh! That was a human inside me that whole time!

As we approach solids for my little bubba, it's helped me to take a look at the kind of food he will be joining in on...soon! There is nothing more motivating to eat healthy than when I know there is a little guy watching everything that goes in my mouth...and wants to do what I do!

That's why as we ease into the world of solids my little guy is going to experience a wide selection of healthiness...right along side me!

Here he is, exploring some broccoli on Sunday evening:

Addict.

I have a new addiction. Frozen yogurt. Now there are definitely worse things to be addicted too, so I'm not getting to down on myself for making the trip out to the town over two days in a row last week to indulge! It's a place called Blu Berry. I think it may be some kind of franchise...not quite sure. But it is certainly the new fad around this crazy county I live in!

Luckily, I am not alone in my new addiction. My amazing friend Hollie is also quite obsessed. In fact it was she who joined me both days in a row there! :)

I hope to write a whole post on Hollie to, because she is in so many ways an inspiration to me. We had a chance to hang out Friday night. Hollies is also on her own journey to lose the baby weight. She had her little man Hudson in July, but before she was pregnant with him, she was running half marathons! She's so awesome.

On Friday we decided to cook a healthy dinner together. Our choice? Turkey avocado burgers with turkey bacon and sweet potato fries. OH MY GOODNESS we were in heaven!


We headed to fro yo for dessert. I could have made some better choices like getting a fruit flavor and topping it with all kind of fruitty goodness, but dulce de leche and red velvet cake was calling my name! It was worth every last calorie :)

Eggcellent.

I never realize my absolute love for eggs until I was preggo with my little bubba. Eggs were my number one craving with him. I would literally eat several eggs a day (yes I realize this is probably not the most healthy thing). 

Luckily, after I had him, the intense egg craving somewhat decreased. But every once in a while I still find myself really craving some scrambled eggs or a egg salad sandwich.

You know whats weird? My mother in law makes egg salad sandwich straight from scrambled eggs. No hard boiled eggs involved! I thought it was really strange but when I tried it I actually discovered it's pretty good...and much quicker!

I love having hard boiled eggs to take for an easy on the go snack. So today I boiled up some eggs:

While I did that bubba chewed on his "snack":

No eggs for him yet!

What is your favorite way to eat an egg?

Welcome to mommyhood!

I can't begin to describe the ways in which I've grown over these past 5 months with my baby boy. God has done some serious work-not just in my "mommy" life but in my heart. Here are my top ten nuggets of wisdom I'm learning day by day: 

-Your opinion about things will change more than you can count, so watch that know it all attitude or you will be sure to be humbled. 

-There is no wrong or right in parenting-only different kids, different families, and different situations. 

-You will inevitably always think your child is the best-the cutest, the smartest, the all around greatest kid of all. Its easy to stay focused on just your little world, but remember how great it feels to celebrate others too. 

-Life is celebrated by the small things-every new experience is beyond exciting and more special than the last. 

-A smile can change a mood in an instant.

-Life callings can and will change with each new stage of life. Be open and embrace each new path life takes you.

-You will never make everyone happy. Sometimes being selfish is your healthiest option. 

-Asking for help doesn't mean admitting weakness, in fact, it takes courage. 

-Draw close to those who love you, embrace those who embrace you, and accept that friendships come in seasons. Be thankful for memories but accept that people change and that's ok.

-Nothing or no one can make you feel whole. This is a journey you must find within yourself and it will be the most fulfilling of them all.

It's Greek To Me

Kellen (the hubby) likes to laugh at me when I talk about my Greek heritage. Ok, so maybe I really only am 1/32 Greek, but gosh darn it, I'm proud of it!

Even though I am SO in touch with my Greek roots, I have yet to jump on the Greek yogurt bandwagon. I've tried it once or twice but I guess I am just not really a huge yogurt fan in general, so I didn't fall in love. 

At my class this week, the instructor talked about how you can substitute Greek yogurt for all kind of things. The great thing about it is it is lower in calories than some other options, but it is also FULL of protein (and we know how important that is!)

Two things one gal in the class mentioned is:

Using Greek yogurt in place of sour cream (I'm intrigued! I am a sour cream lover...)

Using Greek yogurt mixed with ranch seasoning in lieu of ranch dressing! (again... intrigued....ranch is my all time favorite dressing. In fact, I could probably eat it on almost anything!)

Have you found a cool way to use Greek yogurt? Please share!

Post Baby Weigh In Week 2: Muscle Weighs More!

The saying "muscle weighs more than fat" is ringing in my head. Let's just hope that's the explanation for my 1.2lb gain this week! :(

I won't deny I'm a little disappointed. But the facts are, I ran 5 times since that last weigh in, had a 3 day weekend with lots of eating out, and I lost 6lbs last week. The odds were not in my favor for a good loss this week. 

I am pressing forward! Now...to sleep!

Excited for Tonight

Tonight is my second official post baby weigh in. I am so excited. I've actually been looking forward to it all week. After my six pound loss last week, I'm not expecting a huge drop on the scale tonight. I honestly would be happy with even half a pound. 

It's weird how different scales are. Last week I was assuming I didn't lose any weight because my scale at home said I was still the same. Then when I get to the competition, that scale said I had lost 6 pounds. 

My scale at home is saying I haven't lost anything at all this week, yet again. So we will see! 

As far as eating goes, it's been an ok week. It's always hard when there is a three day weekend because that's one extra day where I don't really watch what I'm eating too much. It's too hard with kellen being home and having breakfast together in the mornings, lunch and dinner with friends/family to try and keep up with my same "food" routines that work for me to lose weight. I do still try to choose healthier options, but I definitely know I consume more calories on the weekend than during the week. 

Running has been going really well! I started week 3 of C25k today. I feel like I'm finally to the point where it doesn't hurt my lungs to run, which is such a great feeling. Once I get into my "pace" (slow as it  may be) I start feeling like I could do this for a while! It's so amazing to feel the way your body starts to change over just a couple of weeks of working out. 

Well, I'm off to see the results on the scale! Stay tuned!

Breastfeeding: My Journey

Today I wanted to cover a topic that I think actually has a lot to do with this whole weight loss world. Breastfeeding!

Now, when I was pregnant, I was obviously excited to have my baby and everything but breastfeeding became this amazing concept in my mind. I was going to be able to eat whatever I wanted after my baby and lose the pregnancy weight by having this tiny human being sucking it out of me! HA!

I kind of want to politely correct women who tell other pregnant mommas that they need not worry about the pregnancy weight because it will "come off as long as you nurse." For some women, this is totally true and I realize that. But for me, it just isn't enough.

Of course it's all about a calorie in, calorie out game. Breastfeeding is just another way in which your body burns calories. In that way, it's pretty stinkin cool, because there is not much physical effort involved. However, for a lot of mommas, (including myself) I think it tends to become an excuse in your mind to eat whatever you'd like because "nursing will burn it off anyway right?" and "the baby needs it!"

I remember when my sister in law was complaining about gaining so much during pregnancy and she said "but I know I need the fat stores for nursing." She is one of those natural skinny minis- so maybe she did need the extra fat stores. But maybe I should have remembered that she is she and I am I and my body had plenty of "love" to go around for this little one before he came about :)

Thus far, my baby is almost 6 months old and breastfeeding has not really cut it for me. I'm still up a significant amount of weight. I kind of shudder at the day that my baby boy weans and I am not just automatically burning those calories! Exactly why I'm starting now :)

Toxic

Have you ever had a moment where you looked back on a relationship in your past and realized how hurtful that person was to you? For some reason I believe we as humans have a hard time accepting and opening our eyes to see people in our life that don't have our best interest at heart. I myself have had plenty of unhealthy relationships where it took an outsider to say to me "Hey, they really aren't very loving to you, are they?"

I worked as a nanny before I was pregnant for a family who was like this. Yes, I was there employee and yes there are certain "boundaries" you must maintain as an employer. But these people (specifically the father) treated me like I was less of a human being than himself. It was hurtful at the time but not until after they "let me go" and I was able to reflect on that year of my life did I think to myself- why in the world did I allow someone to treat me like that? Luckily God lead me to a better family to work for out of the situation and I was reminded that there are good people to work for!

On my past get healthy journey I also ran into some so called "friends" who were not encouraging to me. Whether it be for their own insecure reasons (because I'm sure they were dealing with something to treat others this way), I still allowed those type of people a place in my life, my thoughts (which began to bring my down) but most importantly- my heart. 

One specific relationship I had to let go of a little over a year ago. I have to tell you, letting go of a friendship in any sense is difficult, no matter the situation. Luckily, I had some amazing women in my life that helped me to recognize the toxicity of this relationship and helped me walk through the process of grieving. And yes, I do believe when we move on from friendships we go through a process of grieving. My heart ached wanting that friendship that I wished I had, even though my perception of our friendship was so far off from the hurtful reality. 

The point is- I have a lot of love to give. And I'm learning to recognize that there are lots of other people in this world who need love and will return it to me in a kind, caring, and encouraging way. Friends that lift me up when I come away from time with them, instead of bringing me down. I don't deserve that- no one does.

How are you allowing others to treat you? Are there any toxic relationships in your life? You deserve so much more than that!

Couch to 5K: revisited.

I attempting the C25k once again. I completed my first sucessful session of C25k in February 2010. Up until I got pregnant that year in July, I continued to run and was able to maintain a good pace for up to about 4 miles at the most. I tried to start the "bridge to 10k" but started getting discouraged and questioned whether or not I was meant to run long distance or even whether I wanted to. 

When I got pregnant in July I had high hopes of becoming a super awesome preggo-bellied running momma. I started C25K "pregnancy edition" in August. It quickly fizzled out after two runs of feeling like my bladder would soon explode or I might find myself sleeping on a neighbors lawn out of sheer exhaustion.

Fast forward to 6 weeks post partum. The midwife officially gives me the ok to excercise again (gosh darn it, couldn't you have said I needed to wait a couple more...months?). I finally get my butt out the door a total of three times in one week (with brand new baby in tow of course). Feeling pretty stinkin proud of myself and BAM I'm hit with some kinda sickness. Motivation gone. 

So here I am, now 5.5 months post partum and I'm trying this thing again! Try, try again. right? This morning was wonderful but I was definitely reminded of how out of shape I am when I was sweating- POST shower. Eeek!

The Power of Protein!

Can I say how much i LOVELOVELOVE this weight loss competition? Not only is it a competition (which I plan to totally dominate) but it is also a Nutrition class as well. I even found out tonight that we all get a "body analysis" consultation with our Weight Loss Coach. I'm excited to find out what she has to say about my body type and hear her suggestions. 

The first class was on the ultimate tool to weight loss: protein. I definitely knew that protein was an important aspect to a healthy diet, but I don't think I realized HOW important!

Did you know that women need an average of 75-100grams of protein a day? That can be hard to do when you don't focus on including protein packed snacks into your diet!

When you don't get enough protein in your diet, your body pulls it from your muscles. It starts with your heart...yikes! It can be really dangerous not to get enough protein in your diet, especially if you are exercising.

Protein helps in building lean muscle mass. This is crucial in losing and maintaining a weight loss. Did you know that more muscle mass equals higher metabolism and higher calorie burn?

According to what I learned tonight, 50% of our protein intake should come from meat, and 50% from a plant based food. 

So far, I'm finding my favorite sources of protein are hard boiled eggs, almonds, turkey sandwiches, and tuna!

What's your favorite protein packed snack?

Post Baby Weigh In Week 1: A Huge First Step!

I have AMAZING news! 

Tonight I stepped onto that scale at my weight loss competition and I lost SIX pounds. 

This was my exact reaction:

"Um. That has to be wrong. Yup, I'm sure that's wrong"

My Coach: "Nope, it's not wrong...you lost 6.2lbs!"

I am honestly in utter amazement. What a great feeling to start off my new journey!

Now, I know a lot of it may be "water weight" or whatever...but I am going to celebrate it like it's six pounds of pure fat! I'm so over the top excited!!

So that's it for my first weigh in on this journey. I am SO PUMPED!

I don't care.

The title of this probably makes me sound like I am some crazy insensitive person. And after I write this you make think I am....but...I don't really care :)

Being a mom has taught me so much. People like to give their opinions on everything from sleeping to eating to pooping. And while some of this advice is friendly and loving and caring, some of it is simply not. You learn pretty quickly as a mom that you have one of two options:

1. You allow others thoughts or feelings about you affect you and get you down 

-or-

2. You simply don't care.

Not caring includes ignoring, letting the words "roll of your shoulder" or just simply stating politely "Thanks, but I think for MY family we have found that some other options work best!"

This attitude can be applied to so many things in our lives. A nasty coworker that is intent on bringing you down, a grumpy grocery store clerk that is angry at your coupon usage, a nasty family member who tends to live on the negative side of life. 

Now I am not saying that I am anyway near not caring about what people think of me...but I AM saying that it's a new goal of mine :)

Guess what? At the end of the day it's YOUR life and theres only one person that has to live with your decisions: you. So why don't you start today at taking steps to make YOU happy and not care what anyone else thinks? I know I am!