My New Adventure

So, since going back to work after my mat leave last August, it's really been a struggle to pick up my weight loss journey. I couldn't figure out how to get it all done: work....family....me. I felt like things really started to get out of control. It wouldn't matter how many times I tried to put a plan together for myself, it just wasn't working. I was struggling. MEGA struggling. I knew something really had to change. I was in a rut and a big one at that.

So I've written about my PCOS before. I've come across a couple groups on Facebook and I seemed to notice a constant between the two: Shakeology and Paleo. Well, I'm not interested in Shakeology. It's a protein powder sold by the BeachBody brand. Paleo, on the otherhand was something I wanted to delve into a little further. I've seen Paleo around for a couple years now, it's really strong in the CrossFit world. I didn't really know a lot about it, so I thought I'd look into it a little bit more before making my decision. Another thing I've been seeing a lot lately is eating more and lifting heavier. Eat more and lose weight...say what?! After years of pounding it into your head that you've gotta eat less to lose weight, this is something that seemed so foreign and something I'd really have to wrap my head around.

So what exactly is Paleo? It's the principles of a pre-historic diet and Robb Wolf explains it here.

The decision didn't come lightly. But, after talking to a couple people, reading some articles and self-reflection...I came to a decision. I was going to do this. There were some MAJOR changes that needed to be made. I recruited D. I said, let's do this for 21 days. It takes 21 days to form a habit, so this was my minimum for this. And if I was doing this, it was going to be done with 110%. As much as it was going to be hard for me, I knew it was going to be even more so for D. So there was going to be no half-ass'ing it. We were going cold turkey. We were about to eliminate grains, refined sugar, and processed foods.

The Moment of Truth

I got eliminated from the biggest loser challenge I was in. There. I said it.

It was a community 5 month challenge that began May 1st. The only way to get eliminated was if you gained weight. Also, if you didn't weigh in, you'd be disqualified. I made it through the first month with a measly 2lb loss. Then we come to July 1st. I weighed in. 1lb...up.1lb! I got eliminated because of 1lb? One. Measly. Pound. It wasn't like it was a surprise. I knew I was up. I was actually surprised it wasn't more than that. I wasn't working out. I was eating crap. I wasn't really trying. So, I gained weight. I got eliminated.

Am I sad? Angry? To be honest...not really! Slightly disappointed because it was 1lb. Maybe I would feel a bit better had it been more like five. I actually feel relief. Throughout the whole last month I really thought about what was going on. I feel like because I wasn't "allowed" to gain weight...I did. When I'm feeling a restriction is placed on me, I'm more likely to resist back and be like "Oh yeah? Well I'll show you!" It's just not in the positive direction it should be. Can someone please tell me I'm not allowed to lose weight??

I think also I know that my maternity leave is almost up and my back to work date is getting closer. I'm starting to stress out about that a little A LOT and I have in my mind that maybe I shouldn't even bother trying to "lose weight" until I'm back to work and we have out routine all in place and everything is a little more settled. Instead of getting into a routine now and then trying to alter it then. Am I just making an excuse?

I've been tossing around some ideas in my mind lately about my whole weight loss journey. I believe that it's 80% mental and 20% physical. I 100% believe that is true. And believe me, if my mind isn't in the right place, it just ain't happenin'! So, I've made a decision. My decision is this: to implement a new game plan where my mission is changed. My mission is no longer to "lose weight". I mean, when you lose something, you're almost always going to find it, right? Well I don't want to find that weight (both mental and physical). So in order to do that, my mission is now to get fit and healthy. When someone asks me if I'm trying to lose weight. Nope. I'm getting fit and working towards being the healthiest I can be for the rest of my life. I'm no longer going to focus on the number on the scale. I'm focusing on my body and my mind. I don't want my goal to be a number.We were catching up on Mad Men and in season 5 Betty has been struggling with her weight and going to Weight Watchers. There was a scene in episode 9 where she was at a meeting and the leader said something that rang so true to me. It was definitely an "a ha" moment.

We always talk about our goal in pounds, but that's not all it is. Is it?

LIGHTBULB!

I have so many goals that I want to achieve, but the main one I talk about is always pounds! But that's not what it's about! It's about feeling great. It's about feeling and being strong! It's about getting out my road bike again (my love) and completing the Skeena River Challenge. It's about being able to have a non high risk pregnancy. It's about being able to go shopping for clothes and not have to worry if they carry plus sizes! It's about having less strain on my back. It's about being able to set an example for my daughter and leading a long, healthy life so that I can be around for her.

So how will I achieve my goals? 

I am no longer putting restrictions on foods. My relationship with food has been strained for so long. For years it's been ingrained into our minds that there are good foods and bad foods. Eat this - Not that. This is why we so often fail. When you're told not to do something...that darn little devil is put into play and sits there on your shoulder saying, "Cmon...you know you wanna!" And so the food battle begins continues.So I'm setting out to try a different approach. EAT! That doesn't mean that I'm only eating junk food. I will eat the foods that provide my body with the highest performance fuel. And if I want to eat cake, you better believe I'm going to eat cake.

I'm going to move. I'm going to sweat. I'm going to get strong.

I'm not putting any deadlines on any of this. For so long I've set out on my weight loss journey saying, "Okay. I'm going to lose 60lbs by such and such date." How has that helped me? Sure they say you have to have measurable goals and they should have a time frame. That this helps you to get there. I'm not trying to get there, to one certain point. This is for life. My every day, rest of my life.

I'm not going to say all this starts "tomorrow", "Monday", "next week", "when I go back to work". It's already started. It started when I came into this world and took my first breath. My life. It's been up to me all along to live my best life because it's the only one we have. You better believe I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure of that!

I hope you do too.

66 Day Challenge Workout #2

In this workout you'll be working your thighs, calves, glutes and shoulders.

Again, make sure to take 30 second breaks between the sets and use a weight that will challenge you where the last repetition is tough to complete. Also, complete all sets of an exercise before moving on to the next.

Workout #2

If you have any questions, fire away!

Get out there and totally ROCK IT!!!

66 Day Challenge - At home workout #1

As some of you were wanting to participate in the challenge, but didn't have access to the gym, so couldn't necessarily do the workouts posted, now you can! I have a series of workouts that are designed for at home using very little equipment.This workout was actually a part of my Terra Fit Challenge back in 2009. Also, as a side note all weekend challenges that are posted on the Facebook page, are all using your body weight, so you won't need a gym to participate in those either.

At home workout #1

Next weekend, I will post the at home workout #2.

Good luck and ROCK it!!

66 Day Challenge Workout 1

This workout is designed for women. I apologize if there are any males who are looking into this - haven't heard from any yet!

I am getting my workouts from Sam Omidi of Weightloss and Training.

He has designed this workout to be a 5 day routine with an optional 6th day for those of you who really want to get it going.

He recommends 30 second breaks between the sets and choosing a weight that will challenge you where the last repetition is tough to complete. Also, complete all sets of an exercise before moving on to the next.

Day 1 you will be working your arms and back together. Resistance training with weights is used to build muscle to burn fat.

Day 1 Workout

If you have any questions, fire away!

Get out there and totally ROCK IT!!!

66 Day Challenge

Why is it that bad habits are so hard to break? Why is it that time after time of trying to make a good habit stick, you just end up back at square one. Well, I've heard that to create a habit, it can take anywhere from 21 to 28 days. One day I decided to look into it. The majority of the pages I came across all seemed to say the same thing: if you REALLY want to make a habit stick, it will take 66 days. 66 days huh? Well I guess that makes sense. Time and time again we hear, "Well you didn't get here over night so it's not going to change over night." Well alright then - 66 days it is.

So I've been thinking about this for a while. The majority of that thinking has actually been taking place in the shower. I for some reason have my best brainstorm sessions in the shower! Being a new mom, the shower has become my escape! With a clear mind, the ideas just come to me! So I've decided to put together this 66 day challenge. I really want to make these habits stick. I'm still quite a few months away from going back to work as I'm still on mat leave, but I want to be able to have some real healthy habits in place before I go back to work. For me not only is this about creating healthy habits, but also continuing my weight loss journey.

I've created a worksheet as an outline for this challenge which can be found here:

Terra Fit 66 Day Challenge Worksheet

You can print it off and fill out by hand.  Or, to save as a Word doc, once you click on the link go to File->Download As->Word. You could then fill it in on your computer and save it that way. Once downloaded as a Word doc though, for some reason, the formatting changes slightly and it doesn't appear quite as pretty.

So with that said, here are my 66 Day Challenge daily goals:

1. Keep a daily food journal to track my consumption
2. Minimum 10-8oz glasses of water
3. Wake up at 6:30am
4. 25 squats - 25 push ups - 25 crunches

Nutrition:
Following a clean eating lifestyle, limiting the processed items.

Fitness:
Gym - 3-4x/week on Dave's day's off.
On Dave's work days I will rotate Kinect UFC Trainer & Your Shape as well as my bike trainer.
On nice days, I'll take little miss for a walk.

I'm using gym workouts from Sam Omidi of Weight Loss And Training. I will be posting these every second day.

As weekends always seem to get a little tougher, every weekend on the Terra Fit Facebook page, I will be posting mini challenges to keep us going!

If you'd like to join in the challenge, leave a comment. If it's still the same as before, if you don't have a Google account, just choose anonymous, but leave your name in the comment. The more the merrier and we can support one another!

Let's do this!! 66 days...ROCK IT!!!

Rewards

So I've been thinking about rewards for the last week. What is a reward? Well we all know, but I thought I would google the definition.

Reward: A thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement.

A thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement. Hmmm, okay. So a thing. What about the rewards we automatically get on this journey to health: improved health, an increase in energy, a fit body, knocking down our mental barriers, etc. I think those are pretty great rewards! But, sometimes we need to have something that we can actually see to remind us of our great achievements.

Last summer I was watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition with Chris Powell. He calls himself a Transformation Specialist. He has a degree in Exercise Science with concentrations in physiology and biomechanics. WOW! This guy knows what he's doing! One thing that I especially liked was his system. Each participant was given a year. He then broke that year down into 4 phases. Each phase had a specific goal and a reward. Now these rewards were HUGE! I of course don't have the deep pockets of ABC, so my rewards will be on a much smaller scale. I loved the idea of the phases. I thought that this was definitely something that I could use.

So the other day I sat down and thought about what my phases could be with goals and rewards. It's tough for me to put in deadlines as I'm nursing, I'm not quite sure how that would work. So I've set out my goals and rewards.

Here they are:

PHASE 1
Goal: 10% - 228lbs (-25lbs)
Reward: 2 new outfits

PHASE 2
Goal: Onederland - 199lbs (-29lbs)
Reward: iPad

PHASE 3
Goal: 10% - 186lbs (-20lbs)
Reward: Lululemon workout clothes

PHASE 4
Goal: THE BIG ONE - 160lbs (-26lbs)
Reward: Trip to NYC

Mini Phases
Goal: 20lbs
Reward: Massage

I'm looking forward to and very excited to achieve each and every one of these goals. When you have something very specific to work towards, it kind of takes the guess work out of getting there. Put in the work, reap the rewards!

Have you put a plan into place like this with your specific goals and rewards?

Skinny Super Bowl

We're having a Super Bowl party today and I decided to make lighter versions of popular Super Bowl party foods. Below are the links to the recipes I made:

1) Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe from Skinnytaste.com (1/2 cup - 3+pts) (I will be replacing the crumbled blue cheese with light cheddar - will update if points affected)
2) Skinny Baked Jalapeno Poppers recipe from Skinnytaste.com (2 poppers - 2+pts)
3) Tara's Guacamole (1/4 cup - 4+pts)
4) Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (1 mini - 2+pts) (I am replacing the sugar with Splenda +1/2 cup skimmed milk powder and an extra 1/2 tsp baking soda. (I actually halved the icing ingredients and sprinkled each cupcake with shredded sweetened coconut (1/2 cup for recipe))

So that's 12 pts for a serving of each of the above. To cut down on the pts to go with the dip, I will be having celery/carrot sticks instead of crackers or chips. As for the guacamole...we'll see. Guests are bringing chili, wings, tortilla chips and hummus. I think I'll stick to my dishes. Oh, I may also have to make a punch! I will probably do that with club soda, crystal light and fruit.

I'm excited for the party! I think this is the first time ever where I've planned ahead to make sure I provided options which fit in with my new lifestyle, but are still delicious and who am I kidding - fun!

Weekly Mini-Goals

I was reading some blogs the other day and came across one post that was on weekly mini-goals. I had forgotten that before I got pregnant that's basically what I was doing! It really, really helped. So while little miss was having her nap the other day, I wrote out my mini-goals for the week:

Hydration: Drink 8-10 glasses of water (64-80oz)
Fitness: 18-20 AP (Weight Watchers Activity Points) - 90 min of which should be cardio
Nutrition: 5 fruit/veg per day and 3 dairy
Support: Blog 4 times (Either WW or Terra Fit)
Home: Don't sit down until everything is done that I need to get done (when little miss is napping)

Scale: 3.4lbs (the remainder of the 10lbs I challenged myself to lose before Cancun)

So I wanted to share this and next Tuesday (weigh-in day) I'll give a full report on how I did!

Have you thought about doing weekly mini-goals to help you get to your end-goal? If not, give it a go! I think you'll find it really helps :)

Scale-a-holic

Hello, my name is Tara and I'm a scale-a-holic.

Yes, it's true. Every morning I have a ritual. I won't go into specific details, but it always ends with me on the scale. My reasoning was that I'd like to see how much harder I'd have to work. Yes, I know they say you shouldn't really focus on that as there are so many factors that can come into play with a fluctuating daily weight. So why was I doing it? Habit. Pure habit (with a dash of self-torture).

So this week I decided to break this habit. Since I was "re-wiring" my brain, I may as well re-wire my brain on this too. Let me tell you, like any habit, it's been a tough go. Ohh how I've had the urges. I feel like I'm doing really well and I just want to hop on the scale to see how well. D has been helping out though and he reminds me of how to look at it. "Would you rather see where you're at right now or how about how far you can go by Tuesday. Wouldn't you rather that greater triumph?" Thanks hun! He goes on day shift tomorrow - 48 hours where he can't remind me of my goal. So, he's going to hide the scale! Out of sight, out mind.

I'm already half way there. I'm ready to go the distance and not hop on that scale until Tuesday morning.

Breakfast of Champions

So, I've decided to start my day with oatmeal. It's a great start to the day. It fills you up and really leaves you feeling satisfied. Since I am nursing little miss and working out more, I was concerned with drying up too soon. I read that oatmeal helps with lactation. So, daily oatmeal it's been! Now, just plain oatmeal every single morning can get so boring, so the foodie in me started to play around with the flavours. So far this week I have made four different variations. I thought I would share with you since they have been so delicious!

Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal

1/3 cup quick oats

1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 tsp splenda

3/4 water (I've also made with skim milk, just adjust the pts)

1 tbsp light peanut butter

Combine the first 3 ingredients and stir. Add the water and stir. Then stir in the peanut butter. Microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, enjoy!

WW+pts: 7

Almond Joy Oatmeal

1/3 quick oats

1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 tsp splenda

1/2 tbsp medium unsweetened desiccated coconut

1 tbsp slivered almonds

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp coconut extract

Combine the first 3 ingredients and stir. Mix in the coconut and almonds. Add the water and stir. Then stir in the coconut extract. Microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, enjoy!

WW+pts: 7

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal

1/3 cup quick oats

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

3/4 cup skim milk

2 tbsp orange juice

2 tbsp dried cranberries

pinch of cinnamon

Combine the first 2 ingredients and then stir in the milk and orange juice. Mix in the cranberries. Microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

WW+pts: 7

Tropical Oatmeal

1/3 cup quick oats

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 tsp splenda

3/4 cup water

1/2 pineapple, diced

1/2 medium banana, diced

1 tbsp unsweetened, medium desiccated coconut

Combine the first 3 ingredients. Stir in the water then mix in the last 3 ingredients. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir, and enjoy!

WW+pts: 8

Are you an oatmeal eater? Do you like yours the good ol' fashioned way? Or do you like to spruce it up. If so, what's your favorite?

Green Monster Smoothie

So I came across this recipe on Pinterest last night and it's from a great blog, Skinnytaste. I've actually been seeing this "Green Monster" around in a few different places, so I thought I may as well give it a go. Am I ever glad I did! It is DELICIOUS! Seriously...aside from it's vibrant green colour, you would never know there's spinach in it! I had to adapt the recipe as I didn't have quite exactly the ingredients specified and I also added a bit of vanilla protein powder. Nontheless, DELISH! This one will definitely be added into my breakfast rotation...or any time of day rotation to be honest!

So here it is sitting in the blender awaiting a whirl.

And here it is all blended up into sweet, satisfying deliciousness ready to go in my belly!

Green Monster Smoothie (adapted from here)

1 medium banana, frozen

3/4 cup skim milk

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (only had Oikos honey cups, so just scooped the plain yogurt off the top!)

1 tbsp light peanut butter

2 cups spinach

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

2 cups spinach

Place all in a blender. Blend! Pour into a glass and ENJOY!

Nutrition Info:

Calories 552.3

Fat 10.9g

Carbs 76.9

Fibre 5.1

Protein 42.4

WW+Pts: 13

Note: Next time I'm going to try and use some different ingredients to try and get those numbers down. Nonethess, this is a great choice to start off your day!

Re-wiring

I can't believe it's been so long since I've written. I've been putting it off and putting it off, so finally today I just decided to write. I find that I'm comparing myself to others quite often and was even doing that with my blog. I was thinking that I should have all of these topics, research them, have something really good to say about it and pose a question. I feel like mine should be like someone else's. Not my own. I guess what happens is that I feel like I should be like somebody else, something more...but I realized today there's no one out there like me - I'm me! So instead of contemplating what I should be writing about, how I should write it, how I should present it, I decided to just - WRITE!

This past week I've actually been doing a lot of thinking. I think probably since we went to visit my parents, I really got stuck in a rut. I was on a losing trend and gained a bit when we went to Vancouver. Tried to get it back when we got back, but then before I knew it, it was Christmas. The two weeks of Christmas holidays....I gained 9lbs! Nine freaking pounds! I had no inhibitions whatsoever. I stopped tracking my WW points, I ate everything I saw...Nanaimo bars being my worst enemy. Oh Nanaimo Bars why do you have to be SO delicious?! So then came the next couple weeks after Christmas. MAJOR struggle. I was trying to do everything and do it all at once. I was trying to figure out how to balance my weight loss efforts while nursing little miss. I was thinking that I always needed to see big numbers, otherwise it meant I wasn't succeeding. I was thinking about how I was so close to my pre-pregnancy weight (4lbs), then gained so much (I have a history of getting so close and then sabotaging myself). I was stressed out! What helped me overcome that struggle was a phone call with my mom. She was telling me of her struggles and what she had been experiencing. So I thought about what she was going through and how it related to my struggle!

The light bulb! Aha!

I don't have to do everything RIGHT NOW! With my weight loss...if I were to lose 1lb per week...in a year that's 52lbs! FIFTY TWO POUNDS! How much closer I would be to my goal doing that, then with the mentality I've had where it all has to come off now. Going gung ho at the beginning...petering out, losing momentum and not even close to my goal - most likely further away. The old tortoise and hare trick.
So! I'm not stressing out about it. I'm just making sure that I eat healthily, get in some exercise during the week - NOT going crazy about it.

This is going to take time. When I think about where I could be in a year's time, it makes me excited of where that is.

I will strive for greatness! Not for the greatness of someone else, but for the greatness in me.

Chips Ahoy Middles...I Curse You!

I didn't have the greatest of days today. First of all, D started back on night shift this weekend. I loathe night shift! I actually used to really enjoy it...getting to stretch out in bed - heavenly! Since little miss came along, not so much! Hate it! We do fine, I would just much rather have him here at night. Secondly, we leave Monday to my parents' for nine days. I started working on a packing list about two weeks ago. I, myself usually pack like I'm moving. Never mind packing for a 3 month old now too. So I've been stressing out about packing for her. Will I take everything we need? Will I forget something essential? I've been stressing out about the car seat and stroller situation...will we get to skycheck both items? We're taking the car seat and the stroller base. We'll be getting the car seat adapter for the stroller down there. I don't want to have to check the car seat and have them throw it around, like they do other luggage. What about the car seat base? In the suitcase? It's too big to lug around attached to the car seat. Then today panic is starting to set in like I'm not going to be able to get everything done in time. D really only has 2 hours that he's up before he has to leave for work again. I'm such a planner and have to have everything organized and in place ahead of time. All of this has just been weighing heavily on me. Then there's the fact of this being little miss' first airplane ride. How will she do on the plane? I stress out about all of this so much now, but in the end I always know that it's going to work out and be just fine. I have a baby now, I have to learn to be flexible... So how did I cope with all of this today? Chips Ahoy Middles.

Chips Ahoy Middles. 16 to be exact. Yes. I ate 16 cookies. They're small so when you're eating them, it doesn't really seem like that many. Mindless, they go down really, very easy. Not good. Not good at all. I reverted to my old coping mechanism...eating. Now usually what happens here is that eating's bestie denial shows up. However, one thing was different today. Denial didn't show. I didn't pretend I never ate them. I knew I had to track those 16 cookies. I had to pay the consequences for my actions. So I did just that...I tracked those cookies all 34 points of them! Yes, 34 points for those small Chips Ahoy Middles. Was it worth it? Absolutely not. I can think of so many other WAY more delicious foods to total 34 points that I could have consumed. So I obviously had to dip into my WP (weekly points) which I would have much rather have used for an absolutely delicious dinner the night we get to my parents'. They reset that night anyway, but still - not the point.

So today I stressed out and ate 16 cookies (which I tracked). I did get a 30 minute UFC Trainer workout in though (am I redeemed?).

So now how will my eating fair while we're on vacation at my parents' who always seem to have the BEST food in the house?!

I am really very excited though. I love being with my parents and not to mention - Vancouver! The most exciting part is that my dad will finally get to meet his granddaughter :)

Braving the Elements

Yesterday, I hadn't quite decided what I was going to do for my workout. Right now I've been doing two workouts: UFC Trainer on Kinect and my bike trainer ( I have it set up in the spare room with a tv and dvd player. I plop my girl in her bouncy vibrating chair and turn on Baby Einstein. I get my workout on and she gets her learn on. It's a win win!). Then I saw a woman go power walking by with her dog and stroller. I thought, "Yes! That's what I'm going to do today!"

I made a mental note of everything I needed to get ready to head out. Before it used to be: put on clothes, runners, jacket, iPod - GO! Now, not quite so easy! It's almost like you're packing for a trip, just to go for a walk! So, I got myself ready then got my girl ready. Bundled her up in her snowsuit and toque. Brought the stroller up from the basement (that's a feat in itself!). As I was getting that ready I looked outside and it was starting to rain/snow... Do I still go? YEAH! Got my girl in her stroller, all bundled in nicely under a nice warm blanket, grabbed the rain shield, yada, yada, yada, a few more tasks later and we were off....30 minutes later! HA! - Quickly learning that things just aren't get up and go anymore!

So I started off and it was so wet, but I kept going. My girl looked warm and dry, so we were good! I wasn't quite sure how far we would go...I guess the weather would help us decide. The wind just started to blow like crazy! The rain/snow as now coming down sideways. I got to the edge where residential meets downtown and thought okay, I think we should turn around now. So I turned the stroller back around and started back for home. The wind was just coming at me head on and it was quite the workout pushing that stroller into the wind! The rain/snow was now hitting my face, my jacket was getting soaked and the bottoms of my pants were soggy. It was funny, as I was out there, it reminded me of doing my paper route when I was a kid. I got the exact same feeling, even the air had the same smell. It took me back many years!

We made it home and everyone was in one piece! My girl was still nice, dry and warm! Mommy on the other hand, not so much... I checked the clock and we were out for 25 minutes! Less time than it took to get ready. Oh well! "Such is the way of life" as one of my co-workers would say. My legs were burning and my feet were achy, so it was a pretty good walk! I felt good! The best part was feeling accomplished - that I actually got out there, despite the weather. Around here, it's expected!

Do you ever get out there and brave the elements to get a workout in even though it's so much nicer to just stay inside?

Back at it... Again!

How many times do we say this? For me I think I've lost count now. I was thinking about it last night and i thought you know, I don't think we'll ever stop saying it because what we're doing is not temporary. We're doing this for life. And, if we're doing this for life, it's going to pop out of our mouths many a times. If there was an end for "Back at it... Again" that would mean we've thrown in the towel - we just gave up. I don't know about you but, I'm not giving up on my life.

So yes, here I am back at it again. This time however is quite a bit different then any other time in my weight loss journey - I'm a Mommy! To be able to say that just brings an incredible amount of joy to me. Also, I know now that I'm not just on this journey for me, but for my little girl and our future.

So during my pregnancy my ob told me that I could only gain 15lbs because I was on the higher risk side - being obese and having a high end of the normal spectrum blood pressure. Well I really felt that pressure of knowing I "shouldn't" gain more than the 15. It was tough. I was tired a lot. I used to work out after work and by the time I got home from work, I had nothing left in me. I was usually in bed by 9. So the workouts pretty much became non-existent. Every once in a while I would get out for a walk, but that was all. By the end of my pregnancy, I had gained 37lbs. A far cry from 15. My ob's main concern was my blood pressure, but it remained fine. So we were all good. Really, all in all, I had a fairly easy pregnancy. Then came labour...ohhh then came labour! 50 hours of back labour! Some say that it's not like how it is in the movies, where the woman is just screaming....well, I was not quiet, let me tell you! I'm sure the whole hospital heard my amazonian cries! I delivered naturally, though it wasn't a natural labour as I needed drugs and ended up having an epidural (which was my last resort). But after that long, strenuous, is this actually happening "adventure", my absolutely beautiful, healthy 9lbs 11oz 23" long little girl was born.

So now here I am trying to figure out how I continue on my "journey to health" (as I like to call it) while being a first time Mommy. My daughter is now 11.5 weeks old and I'm nursing. How do I do this?

I was really starting to get antsy about working out. I just wanted to get back at it. I was a little unsure when I should do this. Even though I delivered naturally, I still wanted to wait until my six week check-up with my ob before doing anything. I had my six week check up on October 17th - I was good to go!

Prior to getting pregnant I had fallen in love with two things - spinning (cycling) and boxing. I was really dying to get back to both. Well to help me with both of those things, my husband bought me two things: a bike trainer and UFC Trainer for Kinect (I had really been wanting this since it was released!). So I started up with both. I didn't really set out a program for myself, but would just work out whenever I found a bit of extra time (whenever my girl would let me!). It was going alright, but I was really struggling with one thing...my food!

I just could not find the balance with my food! I knew I had to eat more as I'm breastfeeding, but how much more and how much more of what? I just couldn't figure it out. I found that I wouldn't eat enough during the day and by the time dinner time rolled around, I just wanted to eat everything and anything - and I would. Something needed to change. I was struggling. I then remembered before I had my baby my mom was telling me about how Weight Watchers really seemed to have a great program for nursing mothers. I've done Weight Watchers in the past and liked it, so I thought I may as well check it out.

So on November 8th, I registered with Weight Watchers online. It took me about a day and a half before I really got the hang of the online program and let me tell you - I'm in love! The program is working wonders for me so far! I've found the balance that I was craving. I no longer find myself scrambling around trying to find something to eat, or what I should eat. I love how you track your points AND the 'healthy checks' (types of food). I'm eating consciously again and that was seriously lacking. Also, the online community is absolutely fantastic. The support there is just unbelievable! I'm going to be posting this blog on my WW blog as well.

I am really excited to be back on the road again on my journey to health.

This mommy is back at it... Again!

Terra Fit Vlog #2

Weekly Vlog - Numero Uno

Terra Fit Challenge 2010- Week 2

Week 1 is done! It's happened...I have snapped back in! It feels so great to be back!

I hit all my targets for the week: Workouts! Clean Eating! Water! I really had a fantastic week. Even with the long weekend and having to be out at the park all day with work on Saturday, I still managed to stick to my plan!

So numbers wise...how did I do?

Current weight: 240.6 lbs.
Weekly loss: 10.0 lbs.
Total weight loss to date: 10.0 lbs.
Total % weight loss: 3.99%%

10 lbs?! Are you kidding me?! Am I on The Biggest Loser?! Wait...is that Jillian I hear yelling in the other room?! Nope...that's all me!!!

So what do we have in store for Week 2? Well I'm going to continue my same workout schedule that I had last week. As well keep the clean eating going and my water intake. One thing I've noticed (I notice this quite often), is how tight I am and my flexibility. So one more thing I want to add this week is stretching. I do stretch after my workouts, but my muscles are just always so tight! So this is something I'd like to focus more on this week.

Week 2 Goals:

• Workout at the gym 5 days - 4 days, 30 min cardio and strength training, 1 day 45 min cardio
• Drink 5 -24oz water bottles/day
• Eat Clean and keep a journal of what I eat each day
• Stretch for 10-15 minutes when I wake up and 20-25 minutes before bed focusing on legs and core

Feel free to comment on how you're doing or what you'd like to see. I love hearing from you!Here's to another fabulous week!

Week 1 - Half way!

Well, it's Friday! TGIF!!! It's been CRAZY at work so I'm really looking forward to the downtime of the next couple weeks. I always look forward to those first couple weeks after we wrap up the BIG summer promotion. Downtime...who am I kidding?! There's never any downtime in radio. If there was downtime in radio, we wouldn't be doing our job!! Anyway...it's Friday!! Enough about work!

So! How am I doing now with the challenge? Well so far so good! Since I started on Tuesday, I have been at the gym every morning. My alarm goes off at 5:45 and I hit snooze...once twice...yesterday morning I think I hit off instead of snooze as I woke up at 6:36 and sprang out of bed with some expletives coming from my mouth! Nonethess, I have made it to the gym at 7 give or take 10 minutes. Who has a new love for going to the gym in the morning? THIS girl! I'm going to Body by Lori and I really enjoy it. Especially now that they have the new cardio area complete with a spin bike. Should you happen to pop into the gym at 7am Tues-Fri, that's where you'll find me...on the spin bike. Doing my own spin class for 1!

I absolutely love spin! I'd actually love to become an instructor. Right now I have my certain songs that are for certain sequences. I have a playlist on my Ipod that I've named "Killer Workout". So each morning, that playlist goes on shuffle and whatever song pops up, I have a sequence to go with it...

• 3oh3 featuring Katy Perry "Starstrukk"...jumps. Up-2-3-4, down-2-3-4, up-2-3-4, down-2-3-4...
• Lady Antebellum "Need You Now" remix...a progressive hill.
• Ian Longo & Wainwright featuring Craig Smart "One Life Stand"...Standing keep the beat.
• Natasha Bedingfield "Touch"...sprints.

You get the point. I'm totally loving it!
So that's how I start my morning workout...30 minute spin class for 1. Then I get started on my strength training. I also have 1 day that's just cardio and then 2 rest days. This is my workout schedule:

• Monday - rest
• Tuesday - 30 min cardio & lower body
• Wednesday - 30 min cardio & shoulders/abs
• Thursday - 30 min cardio & back/chest
• Friday - 45 minutes cardio
• Saturday - rest
• Sunday - 30 minutes cardio & bis/tris/abs

I'll keep this schedule going for at least 6 weeks. At that point, I'll take a look at it and see if I'm getting bored. See what needs to be switched up, added, etc.
As for my eating, it's been brilliant! This has been a typical food day for me the last four days:

• Pre-workout - yogurt cup
• Post-workout - protein shake (water & whey protein)
• 9-9:30am Breakfast - Blueberry Oatmeal: whole oats, vanilla protein powder, blueberries, agave nectar and about a tbsp walnuts (another fave breakfast is a toasted whole wheat english muffin with pb & banana)
• 11:45 Snack - protein & carb (apple & pb, cottage cheese & fruit, yogurt & fruit)
• 1:00pm Lunch - protein, carb & veggie (chickpea salad, tuna sandwich on sprouted grain bread with veggies & dip)
• 3:30-4:30pm Snack - protein & carb
• 6:30-7:00pm Dinner - Protein, carb & veggie
• If I get hungry...usually around 9:30, I'll have a protein shake (my new fave thing to do! - Didn't need one tonight though!)

So that, basically, has been how I've been eating since I began my challenge on Tuesday.
So far, fitness is in check! Food is in check! Water is in check! I'm doing great and I feel fabulous! Oh, and my feet aren't doing so shabby either! (Good news!)
I love being back!! Here's to a strong finish to an already strong start to the week!
Be strong, be active, and be all that you can be. Be empowered by who you are and what you can do!