177!

Well, some time has passed since I last updated you all on my weight. I am down another 1.6lb. since Christmas. Three weeks and 1.6lb without even trying. It's not much, but it's still progress.

To be honest, I wasn't really excited to see the scale at 177. Who would? I'm short. I shouldn't weigh this much. Ever. Exercise? I'm allergic. It makes me hurt. I also feel like maybe that 1.6lb was actually shed during this past week.

So what changed? My husband is working third shift now. This new job has us all confused and time-twisted. We've got 1 child in high school, 2 boys that are home schooled and 1 little girl that's just 3 years old. My days are now spent trying to keep everyone happy and quiet so daddy can sleep and at night... I've lost my drinking buddy. I'm drinking MUCH less than I have in a while and sometimes, not at all. I'm pretty sure running around all day (moving more) chasing a three year old and not drinking as much may have played a huge part in this weeks' success. Add to that, the fact that I no longer have time to snack all day.

There it is. It isn't much, but it still is. I'm not giving up, nor should you!

I think it's time to add some new rules for myself!

New Challenges:

• Smaller meals and smaller portions! Use those small plates. You know, the "salad" plates. We've always used them for meals, but recently we've used the big dinner plates a bit too often.
  

• Eat slower! It's not a race. I know this, yet I continue to inhale my food as if there's some apocalyptic shortage. Slow down. Enjoy it more, choke on it less.

That's it for now. Stay tuned...

Fire and sex on a stick.

Now that Christmas is done, it's time to get moving in the right direction. The lighter direction.

For Christmas, my husband (affectionately referred to as "Stud") bought us a new scale. A scarily accurate scale, to be more precise. The first time I stepped on it, it informed me that I was weighing in at 178.6lb. I have lost 3 pounds! I don't notice the difference probably since I have so much more to lose before I would think of myself as healthy. Or even comfortable, for that matter.

So there it is, 3 pounds. Am I proud of myself? Sure. If you say so. I know that's a healthy amount for the time period that has passed, however, I'm finding it hard to get excited about having lost anything at all. I don't believe this to be a problem, per say, just another one of those weight loss hurdles. Repeat after me: "I will NOT let this thwart my efforts."

Now what? Well, I haven't mastered my first set of rules yet. It's not easy, by any stretch. Right now, as I type, I am having a late night snack. BUT... it's a handful of whole, natural almonds. Plain, boring and protein laden. It will fill me up and I'll be all set.

Exercise? Who has time for it?! I've been playing with fire a few times a week. Building and feeding fires fuels my creativity. For me, it's pure meditation. Zen, if you will. While this isn't vigorous exercise, it's still exercise. I'm bending, lifting, transporting logs and brush.

Here comes the fun part, reproduction talk. I have not ovulated as of yet, but things are looking up. How do I know? Because Adam Levine is looking like sex on a stick. Covered in rich dark chocolate. Yummy!

That's all the random I can fathom at this moment. Stay tuned...

I cheated...

Well... Not much has happened in the weight loss department. Sure, I'm disappointed, but let's be honest. 'Tis the season to overindulge. I'm not going to sweat it. It will happen. I WILL one day be much lighter and have much less mass.

Have I cheated on this "diet?" Sure. I'll own it. I've cheated a little here and there. For the most part, I have stuck to my own rules. Since my last post, I have had only 2 late night snacks. Only two in about a week? Not bad! I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

What now? Well, I continue to abide by these rules until I am no longer challenged by them. Once they become easy, I'll step it up a notch.

Note: I forgot to add on my last post, DRINK WATER! LOTS of it! I usually drink 3-4 liters a day, in addition to an occasional flavored beverage at meals.

Stay strong. Together, we can and we WILL be healthier.
-Kelly

Accountability. Learn it. Live it.

I'm fat. Short and fat. I hate it. Do I do something about it? Of course not. It's far easier to sit on my (fat) ass and complain about it. This is the reason for this post.

Since the loss of my son, I have gone back and forth many times about whether or not I want to try again. The trouble with choosing to have another child... regular cycles, or at least ovulatory ones, are pretty much a requirement for conception. I started menstruating 17 weeks and 6 days after Avery's birth. I have just started my third cycle. The first was 34 days and the second was 36 days. The frustration of irregularity is enough to drive me insane!

Babies and conception aside, I truly feel like my being overweight is playing a huge role in the hormonal suck-fest I'm currently enduring. As Dr. Oz tells us, fat creates it's own estrogen. Do what? Yep. With estrogen levels remaining high, progesterone levels staying low, prolactin levels probably a little higher than they should/could be (I'm still nursing our 3 yr old, that's a whole different post.) it stands to reason that my reproductive health is suffering as much as my respiratory and circulatory health is. Being fat is unhealthy. Period.

So why this post? I'll tell you. Simply put, accountability. Whether people are reading or not, this is the internet. The internet is forever. Once I put this out there, I am being held accountable. Accountable for my words and for my actions. If I tell you that I am going to do my very best to lose a good amount of weight to regain my health and my life, damn it, I will. Once I tell the internet I'm going to do this, I will hold myself accountable and strive to do the very best I can to make good on my promise. For myself, for you, the reader and for the depths of the internet realm. I will be a thinner, lighter, healthier person!

The down low: I went to the doctor's office Monday to discuss "cycle control" with him. He tells me that I should lose weight. (I know this, my pants remind me daily.) He also tells me that getting certain meds will do nothing but mess me up more. I get that. The one med that will regulate everything, I cannot take because I refuse to force my daughter to give up something she's had every day since birth. (For more information on child-led weaning and the benefits of nursing a toddler: LaLeche League International, Nursing a toddler, and Child-led Weaning.)

So what's my plan? Baby steps. I'm going to make small changes on a regular basis. Taking short periods of time and making better food choices. I'm going to make every effort to get moving more.

Start weight: Monday, December 12th, 2011 - 181.6lb (according to Dr's office scale)

OUCH!! I'm ONLY 5'1" high, how the hell can I be that heavy? This is, by far, my heaviest non-pregnant weight. I have just barely exceeded this weight, by a few pounds, just prior to the births of babies #4 and #5.


This week's changes:

• Drink less beer. (Duh! Sure, it feels good and eases some of my emotional pain, but at 95-130 calories per 12 ounces?)
• Cut out late night snacking! It's bad news, Peeps, bad news.
  
• Smarter snacking! Instead of several fun size Hershey bars, what about a half cup of cottage cheese or an ounce of whole, natural almonds. Both very yummy choices.
• Instead of caffeine filled drinks between meals, some fruit juice. 100% juice, no sugar or artificial sweeteners.
• Cut the carbs! Seriously, who needs to be eating that much bread, pasta and potatoes?! (Potatoes are my weakness!)

• Replacing white potatoes with a much healthier orange (sweet) potato. I love those!

That's the plan, anyway. I hereby hold myself accountable!

If you have any helpful advice, hints or tips, you are more than welcome to share. :-)