A Peek from the Past

Aiden is apprx 3mths old here...we slathered on some sunscreen, trunks, & a hat and headed to the pool.
He's around 3mths old here too...I remember being excited about how well he was holding his head up. And am I the only Mom that has favorite clothes? I remember I loved those green cargo shorts he was wearing. I had my "favorites" that I was so sad to see him grow out of. If we have another boy someday I know I'll be all giddy again to use them.
He's just over 4mths old here. We were visiting my SIL and the little guy tuckered out and fell asleep right there on the couch. This was the first time he'd fallen asleep alone on his own without being held. Not necessarily b/c he HAD to be held but b/c we always wanted to hold him. I'll never regret snuggling my baby. ;) Posting the picture in the last post made me think of how much he's changed. I went back through some old photos and thought about all those "baby days". I really am excited to have another child. Hopefully we'll start trying sometime this fall. We're planning to buy a house late this summer and thought we'd wait to start trying again once we're settled in.

Had a great HIIT workout this morning, but unfortunately my diet wasn't as great. I snuck a couple pieces of chocolate after lunch and then ate about 1/2 an EFL cheesecake when I got home from work. Whoa nelly. I'm thinkin that was dinner. I can't make that very often b/c I just can't control my portions- I just keep eating and eating. I took my boss some leftover EFL Chicken Enchiladas from last night and he loved them- couldn't believe they were healthy. Maybe I'll try and score big points some day and bring in a whole pan, lol. He asks me a lot of diet questions and I've tried to explain the basics and how you don't have to eat chicken and veggies for every meal to lose weight. Of course that`ll do it, but it's not a diet most people can stick with! I'm feeling good that others in the office are now asking questions and all trying to lose weight. =)

Week 3 Results

No, I can't seem to find a happy spot with my layout, I have to keep changing it. I thought I'd better check in and update with my week 3 results.

Chest- 34 (-.5) Of course, grrrr...
Waist- 27.25 (same)
Abdomen- 30 (-1)
Hipbone- 34 (+1) ???
Buttcheek- 38 (same)
Thigh- 22.75 (+.25) ???

I'm hoping that my measuring is inaccurate on the hipbone and buttcheek, LOL! Wishful thinking maybe. I don't like to see the #'s go up! This week wasn't perfect with a couple cheats of chocolate on Wednesday and an unplanned muffin on Thursday. I had an AWESOME workout Saturday morning, it was so good. I went to a new instructor who whooped my butt with all kinds of new movements, plyometrics, you name it. It was just what my body needed. She came up to me after class and said I was great (cool, I didn't look like an idiot), and we chatted for a bit. I've decided that if I hit my goals for the end of this challenge, I'll schedule some personal training sessions with her. ;)

I finally managed to invest in a new scale today. It was real smart of me to go the day after free day. I was stepping on all those scales and couldn't believe the #'s I was seeing. Damn. Let's just say they were high and I'm praying it's b/c of yesterday's food consumption. Ugh. Well at least I have a nice scale now I can count on to be accurate.

I'm dying to hear more about Beka's comp!! I saw a pic on Suz's blog, man she looked great. I hope she updates soon, I've really enjoyed following her progress. Ok everyone, onto a new week tomorrow. Train hard and keep the eats clean.


Here's a recent pic of Aiden chatting it up on the phone. I thought I'd share how much of a little man he's becoming. It's been a while since I've posted photos. I'll try to do that more often.

The Bet really got some attention in the office! Several others have joined in and we've got a pot going. We're all throwing in $10 and the person who loses the highest % of BF takes the pot. :) The day off has gone to a 1/2 day which is a bummer, but still a sweet deal.
Workouts have been good, I took a body sculpt class last night, owwweeeeeee. It was a great butt workout. Then I did 15min on the stepmill. Today I did 40min on the elliptical, I had enough lifting last night. I'm so glad it's Friday. No big plans for the weekend, except going to the gym tomorrow. There's a "Spring Fling Aerobithon" tomorrow lasting from 8:30-12:30. I'll try to catch a couple of the classes and Aiden will go to the daycare. Their daycare rocks, they're having a Spring Party tomorrow while the parents sweat their butts off! It should be fun for him. I think I might start tanning at the gym too. I'm so sick of this pastey winter whiteness I've got going on. I know...self tanner is better for me...I might look into that too. I just want a tan!
Spring has sprung! I'm really looking forward to warmer weather. Now is the time to be working hard though, shorts season is just around the corner.

The Bet

So I was at lunch today...enjoying my salad full of mixed greens, turkey, & LF cheese, when I'm approached with a bet. Now of course I have a hard time passing on a bet I know I can win. It's a weight loss bet with my boss and 2 other women. There have been so many times I've watched my coworkers order fast food for lunch while I'm eating my protein/carb balanced meal. The bet lasts until May 1st, and whoever meets their goal gets a day off. Now there's a prize. ;) The others set their goals for a 14lb weightloss (they have more to lose) and mine is set at 7lbs. Someone made a crack at how easy that will be. OH how I wish. I think most of us know how much easier the weight comes off when you have more to lose, and how damn hard those last 5lbs can be. One of the women is bringing her scale to work on Wednesday so we can all weigh in in front of each other. No cheating! :) So- I have until May 1st to lose 7lbs! Boy do I have some work to do. My diet is reeeeally going to have to be clean, and free days are going to have to tame down considerably.

Week 2 Results

Time to add a new post, too many folks were getting scared off by the last one...LOL! Poor Steven, I was hoping guys wouldn't read that. *Insert major embarassment*

Two weeks down...measurements aren't increasing, so that's a plus! Here are stats from this week:

Chest: 34.5 (no change)
Waist: 27.75 (no change)
Abdomen: 31 (-.75)
Hips: 33 (-.75)
Buttcheek: 38 (-.25)
Thigh: 22.5 (-.25)

I haven't been posting my weight b/c I don't have a clue what it is. My scale batteries are dead at home. I've been checking here and there at the gym and I was weighed at the dr on Wed morning. Let's just say I wasn't happy with what the dr's scale said. Today at the gym I discovered they have one of those huge scales with the giant round number reader, so I jumped on there this morning. It was 3lbs less than the dr's scale, so even though I still didn't like the #, it was better than on Wed. :) Maybe it's a good thing that I can't be checking it constantly.

Today's workout was really good. I took the Bosu Circuit Challenge class at the gym, followed by "Butts & Guts". The instructor Tina is awesome. I feel bad going to that class and getting such an awesome workout, and then having free day. LOL On the other hand, I think it's way better this way b/c I've gotten up and done something productive before indulging. ;)

After the gym Aiden & I went the the grocery store to stock up on some good eats. My fridge is packed. Jon's out of town this weekend so it's just the little guy & I. I rented a few movies and plan to clean and do laundry the rest of the day. Oh, Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!! Being in Notre Dame land, it's all over the place. There's a big pub tent party downtown and everyone's in their green attire. I hope there aren't too many stupid drunks out tonight, call me boring, but I'm looking forward to a quiet and relaxing evening curled up with a cozy blanket watching chick flicks. Now if Jon was home and we had a sitter, THAT would be a different story! hehe

Let's Talk About GAS

Seriously. This is a major issue. I don't know WTH crawled up my ass and died, but if it's gotten to the point that I can't even stand the smell of my own gas, we've got a problem. So I've read over and over to use Beano. I'm starting to think that's a lot of b.s. Am I supposed to take a ton before every meal I eat?? I'm not even sure what the cause is. Are they protein farts? Broccoli farts? Soy farts? Damn, I'm becoming very hard to live with! Screw that, he HAS to live with me....but at work! Someone please tell me I'm not the only one with gas at work. My coworkers are probably starting to think I just stink all the time. They're all SBD, and I'm constantly fearing someone walking into my office right after I've let one go. What am I saying, let one go?? I can't stop em! If I do, I'm cramped up all day and feeling miserable! I read something somewhere I can't remember about taking digestive enzymes. Anyone tried this or heard of this? I read some posts on t-nation.com about them and a lot of the reviews said they weren't helpful. There's GOT to be something to help with this.
Now that I've completely embarassed myself, I'll shut up. I'm sure you all know I'm a big ball of stinky gas so it's not a huge deal. And if you're just now learning this tidbit, I'm sure you aren't shocked. I'll bet anything 90% of women will admit to it. The other 10% are lying.

Week One Recap

I was so sick of staring at that boring pink blog for so long that I up and changed it on a whim tonight. Looks better but I yelled out a big S.O.B. once I realized I lost all my links. It should be fun getting all of those put back.

Week 1 went well, all workouts completed and all meals clean. I did have a hot chocolate on Tuesday that wasn't planned. Here are my beginning stats and my wk 1 stats.

Beginning

Chest: 35.5
Waist: 29.5
Abdomen: 32.75
Hipbone: 34.25
Buttcheeks: 39.5
Thigh: 23.25
Bicep L/R: 11/11

Week 1

Chest: 34.5
Waist: 27.75
Abdomen: 31.75
Hipbone: 33.75
Buttcheeks: 38.25
Thigh: 22.75
Bicep L/R: 11/11.25


I wish I knew my weight, but wouldn't you know it the batteries in our scale went dead!! So I'm not sure of my starting weight...I'm guessing around 144. I'm confident I can get that # into the mid 130's over the next couple months. I'm feeling that spark come back that I haven't felt in several months. I'll try to keep updated here. I seem to post more when I'm doing well, so if I go weeks without posting, call me on it! I'm either SUPER busy or slacking! LOL
Where did all the bloggers go anyway? There are a few people still keeping updated but several have been MIA for a while. Hope to see some of you back at it.

TGIF

YAY it's Friday! I love Fridays...work is going to be really busy today. I like that though b/c time seems to fly. Made it to the gym again today at 5am for my UBWO and abs. This week has been great, I've eaten clean, drank my water, and completed all my workouts. Tomorrow I'm going to either take a 60min Bosu Circuit Challenge class followed by a 15min Butts & Guts class, or do HIIT...probably the classes unless I decide to sleep in. The class starts at 8:30am which is of course considered "sleeping in", but I like to really sleep in on the weekends and cuddle with my boys. Jon & Aiden- don't go thinkin I've got more than one man in my bed. ;)

After working out on a Saturday I just don't want to eat a lot of crap like old free days. I'm taking free days on Saturdays now instead of Sundays. It's probably better this way. Instead of eating 6,000 cals I'm only eating 5,000! LOL Nah, I don't have a clue how many calories I eat that day, and I don't care...as long as I've been good all week. I DO however have big plans to eat me some CADBURY EGGS! Muuaahahahahaha!!! I love those sweet milk chocolate eggs filled with creamy goodness. Mmmmmmmm... Ok enough chocolate talk. I'm thinking some Jimmy John's would be good too. Oh the possibilities...man I love weekends.

Well it's day 3 and things are going well. All my meals are planned out which makes it so much easier b/c I know what I'm supposed to eat at each meal. I'm not so sure today's bfast is a great choice, but I think it's ok. I put down for Tuesdays and Thursdays to have GoLean Crunch cereal with fruit. It's full of fiber and has 9g of protein per serving, so I think it's ok to have a couple times/wk. I had been eating it daily before b/c it's just so darn good....so I thought it would be ok to allow it into my diet 2x/wk.

Today was HIIT....it never gets easier does it. Well, if you're doing it correctly anyway. My whole upper body is sore from yesterday's workout, I could even feel the soreness when I was running this morning. Guess that's a good thing ;) Tomorrow will be LBWO, I can just imagine how I'm going to feel Thursday morning!

I'm only finding one problem with my 5am workouts. I'm soooo freakin tired by the end of the day that I can barely keep my eyes open. I was fighting it so hard last night during 24. THAT'S when I know I'm REALLY tired. How can anyone fall asleep during 24?!? I think I missed a couple scenes, but saw most of it. I try to get to bed a decent time but sheesh, if I go to bed any earlier I won't get anything done! Anyway, I can deal with being tired when I know my body is changing. I'll just make sure to sleep in during the weekend!

A new start

The chew spit incident was pretty nasty. We were on our way out of Macy's and I grabbed the stroller to push out while Jon carried Aiden ahead of me. I grabbed his cup from lunch (which I believed contained COCA COLA) and drink a couple big swigs until I heard the sound you hear when there's nothing but ice. I immediately (well, after swallowing, haha) realized it was not coke. I thought I was going to barf right there in Macy's. I tore off through the outside doors and started gagging over the trash can. I was spitting out anything I could but most of it had already gone down. Jon says it wasn't spit, that he just spit his dip into the cup. Thank God it was a pouch and not the snuff. So I drank up some dip juice and would you believe that a few minutes later I had a buzz? LOL Seriously! I felt like I'd taken a shot of something. I started feeling sick. By this point I'm walking into the grocery store and totally feel like I'd been drinking. Damn that stuff is potent. He's trying to quit, and I can't wait until the day that happens. He apologized like crazy which was nice but it didn't get that shit out of me. Ick.

Ok, onto better topics...

We started a new challenge today. We took photos this morning and will have them posted all over the house for motivation, esp the fridge and bathroom mirror so I'll see it all morning while I'm getting ready. I should have a big one right next to my alarm clock for times I want to sleep in instead of hitting the gym, lol. I created a couple spreadsheets in Excel to track our meals and our workouts. I'll have a checklist to go through daily to be sure I'm taking my multivitamin and other supps, along with drinking my water, eating clean all day, and doing my workouts. I've been looking through progress pics on tracker and they've really been motivating. I looked through my old photos from last Aug/Sept and THAT'S a kick in the pants. I was SO much leaner then, but it's good to know I can get there again, it's just going to take a lot of work. I'm confident. I'm prepared. I'm focused. I'm not posting my before pic. HAHAHA Mainly b/c I could not for the life of me find my bikini's, so I'm in my underwear. I know, basically the same, but I'm just not going to post pics of me in my underwear on the internet. Maybe if I was looking like a hot piece of ass, but not now. ha

My Life Will Never Be The Same

Whatever you do....never.....NEVER....take a drink from your husband's cup if you aren't 100% positive of the contents.

NEVER. Do you fully understand what I'm saying? NEVER!!

Because if you do....

It just might contain...

Chew spit.

Food ideas?

I've been scouring the internet and many blogs searching for recipes. I'm looking for quick meals, snacks, you name it. I've found a few that sound super easy, but not so tasty...a few that look reeeeally yummy but not too healthy...I need some kind of balance here. I was hoping we could all help each other out. Would anyone be willing to jump in and share some ideas? Any kind of quick meals, recipes for dinner, snacks, etc... Where I'm really needing help is dinner b/c I'm so tired by the time I'm home that I don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. If I can find something good for lunches to take to work, that would be great too. I've generally been having fruit and string cheese, a protein shake, or a homemade protein bar for snacks. I'm also trying to keep my mouth busy during the day by chewing SF gum. One thing that's really keeping me pepped and full of energy during the day is ROCKSTAR energy drink. I drink the one in the blue can that has zero carbs, no sugar, and only 20cals per can. It also contains 240mg of caffeine which would explain the energy. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have no clue how much caffeine is too much...all I know is I like it! LOL

Something I made for dinner one night and took for lunch a couple days was baked spagetti squash. I topped it with low sugar spagetti sauce and LF shredded cheese. SOOOO yummy. Just like spagetti, but not as soft, it had a slight crunch to it. You could probably bake it a bit longer. I baked it cut lengthwise and placed upside-down on a baking sheet for about 50-60min. Only problem is that I should've added lean ground turkey or beef to it for protein. Instead I ate FF cottage cheese on the side.

I'm going to try out some of these recipes and if they're good I'll post the recipes. Please share any/all ideas! :)