Well guess what! I already started mine... New Years Resolutions, that is...
This year my goal is to get into shape and get back to my regular body weight. After most of my kids, I was able to loose the weight by purely dieting. It would take me 6-9 months.. but by eating 1500 calories or less, I could shed the pounds and be back to my size 7 within the year.
After my last baby however.. it just won't come off. I can diet all I want.. and I loose it.. but like 1 pound a month! LOL.. I don't have a hard time dieting either. I think counting calories is pretty easy and I have tried so many other diets.. like no carbs, low carbs, low fat.. etc.. but the only thing that ever worked for my body was low calorie. After Preston, who was my fourth child.. I had gained quite a bit of weight and had a stroke during my labor. When I found out I was pregnant with him, I had only had a baby (Allie).. 6 weeks before.. so you can imagine my surprise and the surprise my BODY had.. when I went full fledge into another pregnancy after just having a baby a month and half before. Being pregnant for 18 months was not good on my body.
So anyways, after Preston, I was the heaviest I had ever been and I had just had a stroke because of my weight. In High School I weighed around 110. I am short, 5'2" tall, so for me, that mean size 5's and 7's in jeans. After having Preston, and I mean 6 months after having Preston, I still weighed about 220 pounds and wore size 28 in womens pants and 4 XL in woman's shirts. I was tired all the time and couldn't keep up with my busy life with 4 kids. So I decided I needed to really try and loose the weight. I would try and eat right and I just didn't loose the weight. I even exercised.. and nothing.. SO I went to the doctor. I found out that I had PCOS, PolyCystic Ovarian Disease (very common in women).. where my body was producing too much testosterone. Twice the normal amount. I makes you very tired and almost impossible to loose weight. You also either loose your hair or gain hair where you shouldn't (much like a man). So once I got on medication to keep that under control, my doctor said that it would allow my body to loose weight normally.. so if I ate right and exercised, I WOULD Loose weight. A few weeks after starting on that medicine, I started a 1200 calorie diet. In the first month I lost 25 pounds. That sounds like a ton, but when you are that heavy.. it hardly even showed.. but I kept going , that was in February and by Fall of that year, I was back in my size 7's and weighed 125 pounds. I had moved to a 1500 calorie diet about half way through and afterwords was able to maintain it by just eating normal. I hate to say this, but I didn't exercise at all either.. Just watched what I ate..
After my next child, Ethan. I had to start all over again, because I couldn't take the medicine while I was pregnant, so I gained additional weight on top of my pregnancy. I had about 80 pounds to loose. This time I was able to loose it in about 6 months (since I knew what i was doing this time around). Again.. just the low calorie diet, but no exercise.
But After this last baby.. Noah. I went back on my pills, and started my low calorie diet.. and just really nothing. It has been SO slow going. I mean I have lost about 35 pounds since I had him but he is almost 2!! I am a size 12/14 right now.. and I guess that is nothing to complain about.. but I just want my regular body back (not even the super skinny one in high school, but the normal one you have.. after having babies).
So I have come to the conclusion that your body must change after 30. I had all my other kids before I was 30, but this one.. I was turning 31 the year I had him. I think my metabolism has changed and that this time around I REALLY have to exercise to get my body back in shape.
So.. (to make my long story come to an end..)
I have joined a GYM! My husband and I have been talking about it for months. There is one in Shelley and it's perfect for us. It's 24 hours and we can go anytime. In March, I am going to Brazil to teach and Ben is coming with me, so our goal is to have "better Looking" bodies by the time we leave. I realize to have the perfect body in 3 months may not happen, but I have 20 pounds to loose in order to be down to my pre-pregnancy weight. If I can loose 12-15 by then I will be happy.
I have been REALLY watching what I eat and it's not easy when people drop by holiday goodies etc. But it's going good. I bought a ton of fresh veggies and fruit and fibers and cut everything up so when ever i feel like snacking, I just pull it out and eat, instead of reaching for the cookies or crackers or box of cold cereal. I have to admit, when I lost the weight before, my diet consisted of mostly cold cereal (not the healthy kind either but stuff like waffle crisp, Reese's puffs and lucky charms mixed with cinnamon toast crunch). While it has a ton of sugar in it, it is VERY low in calorie.. and eating it for breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner, really keeps your count down and for me, it filled me up! (though I have heard that carbs make you hungrier.. .. never noticed that).
BUT!!! since THIS time, I am actually working out and doing cardio PLUS weights.. my sister said I really needed to eat healthy so that my body could sustain the workouts I will be putting it through.
Okay so Friday night we went and workout for the first time. We were there for an hour and half. I started with weights and here is what I did.
Squats, Curls (arms and legs), Rowing, Abs, Bench Press and Overhead Press. I also did some back extension thing that is supposed to help my back get stronger, since I have a terrible back. Well, the trainer happened to be there that night and even though I wasn't taking private lessons, he gave me a few tips. A few TOO many tips.. I think I WAY overdid it on the squats because by Saturday night, I couldn't even WALK. seriously.. you think I am joking, but when I tried to walk, my legs would buckle.. so I would have to walk very slowly and hold onto the walls! and getting out of chair or into a chair was a joke! by Sunday morning it was even worse. BUT i am going back today for more.
My goal is to go 5 days a week for cardio and do weights 3 days a week. They have a personal trainer just for women that gives you good weights to do for weight loss and sculpting, but we could barley afford the gym pass and that was extra.. so I have to figure it out on my own.
IF anyone has any good suggestion.. PLEASE feel free to share!
So this is HUGE for me. I HATE exercising.. and I know that is a strong word.. but I mean it. Ask my family, ask my friends.. ask anyone. I just have always had the attitude that if I have to exercise to get skinny, I would rather be fat! But in the last few months, I realized it's not just about being skinny. It's about being HEALTHY. I mean I don't feel old, in fact I feel like life is just beginning and In order to keep up with my kids as teenagers and being a grandparent, I really need to learn to take care of my body right now. I know I will feel better for it. (of course if I can get a hot body in the process, it's an even bigger motivator). I watch my sister Tia, who struggled with weight her whole life and since high school was always a size 12-14, exercise her way into a size 4 this year! She has muscles and she can run like no one else. She was never big on diet or exercise either.. but a year or so ago.. she hit the same spot I am at and decided it was now or never. and She looks GREAT! I am so proud of her! My old boss, Melody Ross has always inspired me to be fit too. She inspired most of the girls at my work.. unfortunately..I never stuck with it and always had some excuse why I didn't need to! My sister Leora recently took up exercising and she is doing so good, she has been going steady for about 5-6 weeks now and seriously looks so great. Her and I are about the same.. so it's great to see her progress!
Soo... let's do it together. I am just like most of you.. say I don't care if I am over weight.. my husband still loves me, I don't go out much (except to travel and teach).. and people that know me or are around me, love me for who I am, not what I weigh.. so forgot exercise and diet.. YET I still long to be fit, healthy and skinnier FOR ME.. not for anyone else. Because deep down, I look at my body everyday and think.. UGH!
Okay.. so who's with me? I am going to keep track of my progress on my blog. I will even post my exercise, weight and eating habits. I will try and give good tips on thing you can eat. Keep in mind, these are things I EAT.. not prescribed by a nutritionist and everyone's bodies are different. But if it's works for me, it might work for someone else. I promise I won't slack off and go into my cold cereal diet again (well except for breakfast like grapenuts or special "k").
So starting today here is where I am at:
My weight: 155.2 (that's with no clothes and first thing in the morning.. it's when you are the lightest!).
My Clothes: I can fit into most 12's.. but in Juniors.. more like a 15 and my shirts are size large.
Goals for Week: I am going to walk/run on the treadmill for 20 minutes each day. Working up to a mostly run by the end of the week. (on Friday I could barely walk 18 minutes after all those squats, but I did it!) . Do 3 sets of 15 reps of each of my weights listed above, 3 times a week,( working into 20 reps by next week).
Great website for keeping track of you calories, weight etc and FREE: Fit Day . Love this website. It can tell you the calories or fat or carb count of just about ANYTHING you can eat including restaurants, fast foods, frozen food, fresh foods etc. and it keeps track of it for you on a daily basis, so you know how many calories you have eaten and how man you have left (if you are going on a 1200 or 1500 calorie diet). you can also use it for low carb diets (it can keep track of the carbs) and also for low fat diets (it can keep track of the fats). Seriously the best site. Plus you can keep track of you weight, make goals, keep a journal.. etc. IT ROCKS!
Tip of food for the week: we had these when I was younger, one of my favorite low calorie lunches.
Ham and Lettuce Flour Tortilla: 180 Calories per serving
Flour Tortillas (ones that have less than 120 calories per tortilla) 1 or 2 depending on your diet
4-5 slices of slices ham deli meat (the kind you can buy in a bag and has about 80 calories per 8-10 slices)
1/4 cup diced tomatoes ( i love Roma's)
1/2 cup lettuce ( I use bagged lettuce that has Romain in it too).
1 TBS of non fat Sour Cream. I love the cow looking one (name??) (has about 20 calories per 2 TBS).
Olive Oil or Butter Flavored Cooking Spray (basically NO calories).
Directions: In a frying pan, spray with cooking spray generously and turn dial to medium high. Put one tortilla in the pan. While the tortilla is frying, cut up your ham deli meet, tomatoes and lettuce. Turn the tortilla once it starts to bubble. Once the other side is bubbled (this only takes seriously like 1-2 minutes per side).. then immediately removed and put on the plate. Spread sour cream in the middle and put the other stuff inside too. Roll up like a burrito and enjoy!
It's so crispy, but buttery from the spray and the other ingredients are the prefect blend! It's very low calorie for a lunch and if you eat with some fresh veggies on the side dipped in low calorie ranch dressing, it makes a great lunch. I usually make two of them if it's for dinner. They are seriously so good. You could also try tuna, chicken or salmon (though I can't eat salmon).. but I am sure the others are good too!
Well this turned into a very long blog post. But hopefully some of you will get motivated to join me. Seriously we can do this and if we start before the holidays really hit, we won't do so much damage. Keep in mind I DO plan on splurging on the holidays and eating our holiday goodies we make every year for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years, but just in smaller portions, plus I will be exercising so it will help counter act some of it.
Hugs to you all!