Week 12: Proud of Myself

• After taking a year off from running while pregnant, I completed my first 5k
• Ran for 25 mins and 2 miles without a walk break - this is huge because on the Couch 2 5k plan I got stuck on the week that I had to run 20 mins straight
• Not once during the race did I think - this sucks, why am I doing this, I hate running - I think this is my biggest accomplishment, cause I ALWAYS think those things while running
• This was my first 5k running solo - and I managed to keep myself motivated
• I finished in 38:22, which is right in line with what I was running 1-2 years ago (goal was to finish in under 40)
• I wanted to be down 25# by race day - I met that goal!
• Since the beginning of February (12.5 weeks) I have lost 25 pounds
• Since I had Macy in December I have lost 42 of the 51 pounds that I gained during pregnancy
• My pre-pregnancy clothes are slowly starting to fit me again, I am guessing that in about 1 more month they will all fit!!

Here's a very unflattering picture of me in January right before I started counting calories and exercising:

And a picture from April 21st - 12 weeks after the previous picture (look how big Macy has gotten!)

I still have a long way to go, but I'm very pleased with how far I have come in 12 weeks!  Hoping to be down a total of 50 pounds in about 13 more weeks!

Week 8

I have started blog posts the last 2 weeks, but never got them completed, so this will have to serve as a recap for the past two weeks.  Today is the start of week 8 and I am down 15 pounds, a total of 33 from my pregnancy weight!  Back in February I had made a goal to be down 20 pounds by my birthday, my birthday is 2 weeks away and I have 5 pounds left to lose... I can do it!!

I had some issues the beginning of March with horrible shin and calf pain, so I took a few days off from running to rest.  On the 7th I went to the Running Room to get fitted for new running shoes and I found out I need stability shoes.  It was amazing how much different walking around the store felt in these shoes compared to my old running shoes.  The following Friday morning I tried out my running shoes and quickly realized they were way too narrow and short for my feet!  My feet felt completely squished and my toes were hitting the front of the shoe as I tried to run, and again my shins and calves were killing me, so this wasn't exactly a successful trip to the gym.  Over the weekend I went back to the running room hoping to exchange for a size up and a wide width.  They had either a wide width in the same size, or a size up but not wide... so I opted to go for the size up.

I read a lot about shin splints and one thing I kept reading over and over was to slower your pace if you are new to running.  With the combination of my new shoes and a slower pace, I am happy to report that my shins have no longer been causing me pain. I slowed my walking pace to a 3.0 and my running pace to 5.0.  With these slower paces I have been able to run all my intervals of the C25K program without wanting to die.  Speaking of C25K, I have completed week 5, day 2.  Every time the running intervals get longer I think that I won't be able to do it, but every time I have completed every single interval without stopping!!  The real test will be tomorrow when I have to run 20 mins straight!  I know it's all in my mind, so if I think I can do it, I will be able to do it!

Joe went back to work last Monday, which means that Macy had her first day of daycare, and both girls are in daycare full-time now.  The reality of how broke we are is going to be setting in pretty quick.  Macy has just started crying, more like screaming bloody murder, when anyone other than Mom or Dad are holding her, so we were a little nervous about how she would do at daycare.  But she did great, didn't have too many crying episodes, and even smiled for them a bit!  Kara also had a great week at daycare last week.  She is normally full of meltdowns - meltdowns over anything and everything.  She had one rough day, other than that she did great - was even pretty great at home! 

Macy wiped out after her first day of daycare:

This week was a big week for Kara too, we went and looked at a preschool for her to start at next fall.  The preschool is through Beth's (our daycare provider) church.  Beth will transport the kids to and from preschool, so it's really our only option as most preschool schedules are not accommodating to working parent's schedules.  Kara was very excited, and loved the room she would be in. We have signed her up for a 4-day a week class that is a kindergarten readiness program.  It's hard to believe that she will be old enough for preschool this fall and kindergarten next fall!!

And a shot of Kara riding her bike, her favorite thing to do:

We have also been working on re-decorating our bedroom.  We have had the same red and grey walls, comforter, everything for about 7 years.  It was time for a change.  I really wanted to brighten up our room, and I think I accomplished it!

Here is a before shot:

Primer on the walls:

And a couple of after shots - the color we chose is called Extra Virgin Olive Oil - it's really hard to capture the color accurately in a photo:

And here is our amazing new bedding in our room:

We also bought a funky little Ikea chair to put in the corner to have a little reading nook.  I don't have any pics of that yet though.

That's all for now, I better post this before it never gets posted!  Hopefully I'll be back soon with an update on how I do with my 20 minute run!

Week 5: Getting Frustrated

I wish the results of all my hard work were reflected immediately on the scale and in the way my clothes fit me.  I have been busting my ass these last two weeks and the scale has barely moved.  I seem to be losing and then gaining the same 2-3 pounds over and over and over...ugh!  It's so much easier to keep motivated when you are seeing results, not so much when you get stuck and in a rut.

These past two weeks I have not gone over my daily calories, except for the day we had a brownie mountain for Jayla's birthday.  I have been doing the C25K running program, which is 3 workouts a week, today I finished week 3 day 2 of the program - this is the longest I have ever stuck with the program!  Unfortunately my shins and calves are killing me, which I blame 100% on my running shoes.  I am going to allow myself to invest in a good pair of running shoes - I plan on going to a running store nearby to get fitted for shoes in the near future, I'm hoping new shoes will help with my shin/calf pain.  Along with the C25K program I have also been doing 2-3 workout at home - all are by The Biggest Loser, I alternate between CardioMax, Power Sculpt and Last Chance Workout - yesterday I remembered how much I HATE the Last Chance Workout, it's serious business.  I'm hoping that one of these weeks my body will catch up to me and I'll have a big loss.

I will leave this post with a positive note.  I had to go buy smaller jeans today!! The jeans that I just bought 4 weeks ago, right before I went back to work, were falling off of me!!  So I guess even if I am not seeing the pounds fall off, I do know that I am losing inches!  Overall, I am done 11 pounds in 5 weeks and am very happy with that!  Here's to another week of exercise and eating healthy!

Oh, poop!

On my way home from work on Friday I got a text from Joe saying that Kara had pooped on the toilet and we were going to have a special dinner that night!!  Kara has been wearing underwear for a year and a half, but would not poop in the toilet.  At one point she was only pooping at daycare during naptime when she had a diaper on, once she wasn't wearing diapers at daycare anymore she would ask us for a diaper every time she had to go.  We have offered everything we could think of as a reward/incentive to get her to go on the toilet, but she didn't care, she wanted to poop in a diaper... so her pooping on the toilet was HUGE!!  After she pooped on the toilet Friday night Joe and I decided that we would not give her anymore diapers anymore, she would have to go on the toilet.  The rest of the weekend she didn't go.  Anytime she had to she would throw a royal fit and scream and yell for a diaper, but we didn't cave.  Finally on Monday she was pacing all over the house, we could very clearly tell that she HAD to go.  I told her she was either going to go in the toilet or she would have an accident.  She tried to convince us to put her in a diaper any way that she could think of, but she wasn't going to poop in the diaper.. yeah right!  Finally Joe brought her in the bathroom, set her on the toilet and she went!! WOOHOOO!!  We told her again that there were no more diapers and she would have to go on the toilet every time that she needed to go.   After she went she asked to get her camera from grandma and grandpa's house, this is a reward they have had waiting at their house for her for months!!  Joe and Kara drove out in the snow to get her camera, and she was so excited!  So today, Tuesday, she has gone poop on the toilet nine10 times, yes, you read that right...9 TIMES and now 10 TIMES and now we are up to 11 Times!!, and it's only 6:00 pm!!  haha, Joe said she needs to find a new hobby.  I am so proud of her, and so, so, so glad that we seem to be over the fear of pooping on the toilet!

On to me... Last week was pretty rough on my diet and exercise.  In the end I gained 2 pounds, but I am still down 6 overall... so that's a plus, and much better than what I was expecting.  I am working hard this week at counting calories and I started the Couch 2 5K program on Sunday, so I am hoping that will help motivate me to get to the gym at least 3 times a week.  The Couch 2 5K is a 9 week program, 3 workouts a week, in the end you are supposed to be able to run a full 5K.. wouldn't that be nice?  You can check out the program here.  There is also a nice free app for the android phone, you can listen to your own music and there is a beep every time you are supposed to switch from walking to running, it worked great for me on Sunday when I tried it out!  Hoping to get to the gym tonight for day 2!

I have also become rather obsessed with crocheting lately.  I learned how to crochet about 3.5 years ago, but I was taught wrong, so nothing ever turned out right for me.  I took some time to read my crochet book and look up stuff online and I think I finally have it figured out.  I am currently making infinity scarves.. I have made 8 so far, only 2 for me!  I also made super cute hats for the girls, a couple of headbands for Macy, a hat for Joe and a Valentine's hat for Macy.

Here are a few of the things I have made:

On to Macy, she is an eating machine!!  She eats 4 ounces just about every 2 hours on the dot!  She still sleeps through the night, which is awesome, so I guess she's just making up for all the ounces she isn't eating overnight.  She has found her hands and is constantly trying to get them into her mouth.  She has also starting reaching and grabbing for toys on her play mat.  I just love her!

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things...

Today is my 4th day back to work, and I finally feel like I am getting the hang of this again (other than waking up to my alarm at 5am!!)  Sadly, my calorie counting and exercising has taken a back seat this week.  We had a catered lunch at work on Tuesday, ordered a heart-shaped pizza for dinner that night for Valentine's Day and then I went out to lunch yesterday... ugh!  But today I am committed to getting back to calorie counting and hopefully we can get a schedule down soon so that I can find some time for the gym or working out at home. 

Tuesday was Valentine's Day - it was pretty much perfect, other than the killer headache that I had!  Joe and I had both bought each other a 6 pack of Bell's Hopslam, which is a very rare seasonal beer, he turned it into a beer heart....

He also bought me these beautiful roses

We ordered a heart-shaped pizza for dinner, and it was delicious!  Our Valentine's was not fancy and extravagant by any means, but it was absolutely perfect!

Last night we had Macy's 2 month appointment, she is 11 lbs 3 oz, which is the 56th percentile and 22 3/4 inches which is the 63rd percentile!  She is growing so quickly!  The whole time I had her at her appointment she was smiling and talking to the doctor, well, up until the point where she had to get her shots...  She did so good though, and is such a happy baby!  We have gotten so lucky with our babies, both Macy and Kara were sleeping through the night by 6 weeks and both were content babies!  I don't know how we got so lucky, but I'm fine with it!!  

Joe is doing great with his current role of stay at home dad!  He had both girls home with him yesterday and sent me multiple pictures of them sleeping, and when I came home they were both asleep!!  That's pretty impressive to get them both to sleep, let alone at the same time! 

That's all for now.  Hopefully I'll have some good news to report soon about weight loss and exercising!