Week Two Weigh-In -sometimes we fall

I just completed week two of my plan to exercise more, eat better, and ultimately lose weight.

I would rather not go into all the gory details of last week, so here are a few words to give you an overall idea of how the week went: stomach flu, sick family, large box of Ding-Dongs, birthday cake, too much pizza, other family issues, soda, no exercise, ...

Yeah, so it wasn't my best week ever. When I stepped on the scale to weigh myself yesterday, I was pretty surprised to find that I had only gained .6 pounds over the week, making my current weight 168.6 pounds. So certain that it was going to be a lot more weight gain, I was relieved to not totally undo the results of my first week.

So, life is messy. And I am human. Life goes on. Here's to some actual weight loss this week!

By the way, whoever invented push-ups, side planks, and the Superman move ought to be punished. Owww. I am so hurting right now...

Week One Weigh-In - Off to a Great Start!

My muscles are sore. My body craves ice cream. And yet I am pretty happy with how the first week of my new fitness commitments went.

I exercised five days out of the seven, using "Your Shape with Jenny McCarthy" for the Wii. I must say that these workouts kicked my tail! In case you're not familiar with the program, it basically works with a small camera that tracks your movements while Jenny McCarthy's voice corrects you and "encourages" you. (haha) Each day the program monitors your progress and sets up the next day's workout for you based on that progress. It's tough, and not always fun, but I am enjoying the way I feel after each workout.

As for diet and nutrition, I didn't really make any major changes yet. I tried to focus more on getting back into a regular exercise routine, and I hope to work a little harder on controlling my food intake this coming week. I did avoid the extra ice cream and attempted to keep my portion sizes correct.

And (drum roll please) my starting weight for this week is: 168.0 pounds. That means I lost a total of 3.8 pounds this week! Woohoo! It feels like a great way to start, anyway.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments last week, by the way. Knowing that I was going to be reporting my week's exercise and results to my blog was very motivating!

Not Me! Monday - I'm back...

Well, it has been a very long time since I last gave myself some Not Me! Monday therapy. Too long, probably. Have no idea what I'm talking about? Head on over to MckMama's and find out all the fun details of Not Me! Monday enlightenment.

This past week I began working out every day using "Your Shape" for the Wii. I of course did not attempt these workouts in front of the children - that would have been just a little humiliating. If I had, the Beast would certainly not have been so rude as to laugh hysterically every time his mother, um, fell while trying to do triceps pushups. And I certainly did not grow to despise Jenny McCarthy's voice and snap "Absolutely not!" every time she cheerily asked, "Isn't this fun?" Nope, not me!

I also did not stay up late one night just to watch a bunch of pointless Lifetime movies because I needed to see how they turned out. If I had, I would not have gone to bed in the middle of watching one movie and then spent a large portion of the next day wondering how the movie turned out. Not me! Everyone knows the plot of a Lifetime movie: (to quote the Nerd here) "I'm going to write the screenplay and send it to Lifetime. It'll feature some washed-up actress famous in the 90's whose husband has left or died (I'll be vague here to let the man-hating viewers draw their own conclusions) and abandoned her and her two kids. Then she meets a multi-millionaire lumberjacking florist and, not that she needs a man, she agrees to marry him. The man leaves his successful career to stay home with her two kids so she can pursue her dreams of being a cage fighting abortion activist/chief of police (and who is also a breast cancer survivor).

It practically writes itself!"

When the Beast woke up in the middle of the night throwing up, I did not immediately and gladly let the Nerd deal with the barf. Of course, I am totally fine with handling such matters and would never get sick from just watching my kids be sick. Nope, not me. I would never say "Please don't come and cuddle with Momma if you're going to throw up on me" to my poor sick baby. (ouch, that sounds harsh, doesn't it?!)

So totally not me! How was your week? Hopefully not as full of barf and embarrassing workouts!

Bye Bye Baby Weight

Well, I suppose it's that time of year in which many people make their New Year's resolutions. I had originally thought that I would skip the whole resolution thing this year - too hard to keep and all. But then a very wise pastor mentioned a quote that I have heard from him several times: "If you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it every time."



And so I wrote down a list of goals for myself this year - specific goals for The Framed Frog and for myself as a wife and mother. I won't bore you with the whole list here.



However, I did make one goal that I know thousands of others make every year - to get healthier and lose weight. I am going to need all the help I can get - so I am mentioning it here to help keep myself accountable. :)



I have always been one of those people that didn't worry much about what I ate in the past. I was always very active; a cheeseburger here or a bowl of ice cream there never really affected my weight. It was bound to catch up with me eventually. Apparently having three babies in three years, eating junk food, and generally being lazy is the perfect equation for gaining weight. Who knew?! haha



I started putting on a few pounds earlier in 2009. I chalked those up to stress and the long hours of sitting and painting. Gradually the pounds added on throughout the year, but I didn't really notice in all my busyness. In December, though, when a former Sunday School student asked me if I was pregnant again, I definitely took notice. I weighed myself at home and was shocked to discover that I had gained ten pounds in the past six weeks!



It's time to stop avoiding it. It's time to face this beast head-on and stop the weight gain.

Here's my plan:

1) Get rid of the temptations. Currently there is a container of to-die-for Udderly Chocolate ice cream in the freezer and piles of Christmas candy on the table. No more!

2) Work out regularly again. With three little ones, there is little hope of getting to the gym, but I got the "Your Shape" for the Wii which is already kicking me hard.

3) Stop eating all the convenience foods that got me in this position in the first place.

4) Drink more water.

5) Once a week, post my current weight and progress (or lack thereof) on my blog.

So (deep breath here) here is my starting weight: 171.8 pounds.

Eek. My goal is to lose 25 pounds by June. I need your encouragement folks! Because that Reese's peanut butter cup is looking mighty good right about now...