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!