Wrapping Up August

We had a fire with our neighbors and made s’mores!

The girls were quarantined to Kendall’s room while I cleaned the house for our Open House!

Popsicles outside!

New boots for fall!

Can you see Chris?

I love having 2 kiddos’ masterpieces on our fridge now!

I had to stay late one day and Chris took the girls out for dinner and ice cream! Lucky!

Kendall’s 1st Project

I’ve been branching out with my work outfits!

Morning Selfies

Barbie Line Up!

Sleepy Heads!

Good Reports!

A little of this and a little bit of that…

#1

You might want to sit down for this.

I haven’t consumed a carbonated beverage since Feb. 1. Yep, this little coke lover, has avoided coke, pop, soft drinks, whatever the hell you call it for 36 days. Not like I’m counting or anything.

They said it would be easy. They said you wouldn’t miss them after a few days or weeks. WRONG. BIG FAT WRONG.

I think about Coca Cola constantly. How it would make my pizza taste better. How it would make a crappy day better. My body just wants it.

But… I haven’t given in, with the exception of a teeny tiny sip of my brother’s Big Red Slushie.

So, where do cokes and I stand? How have I been feeling?

Let’s start with the latter. I feel great. My clothes fit better. I’m not bloated. For those reasons alone, I may just give them up forever. I’d rather eat my calories anyway. I still drink tea and lemonade occasionally, but I’m also drinking a ton of water.

Will I really NEVER ever drink another beloved can of coke? Probably not. I’ve created this little contest in my head. If I can lose the last 5 pounds of baby weight, I get to celebrate with a coke. 5 more=another coke until I’m down to pre wedding weight from almost 7 years ago.

Isn’t it weird how I aspire to be that weight again? I think I want to be that weight because that’s the last time I remember not weighing myself. Just liking my size and not caring what the number said.

So, how’s that for motivation? And shorts. Most definitely, shorts!

#2

I’ve started reading again. We’ve had several snow days in the last month which in turn I get to stay at home. I have been so lazy and it’s been great. I needed to be lazy. Teaching is rough. My class is rough. We are busy. We don’t spend much time at home during the week so its been nice to be forced to be home. Actually, it’s been wonderful!

I’ve updated the READ WITH ME tab with the books I have been reading! Enjoy!

School has made me lose 5 pounds

Teaching is by far the most rewarding and exhausting job I have ever done. Aside from raising my own children, obviously. Anyway, I don’t sit during the day, I’m always moving, and I don’t get time to finish my lunch. So I’ve lost 5 pounds in a few weeks.

It’s really made me want to focus on losing these last 10 pesky pounds of baby weight and then work on my Summer 2015 body. I need to stop eating crap. I need to find a way to work some kind of exercise into my life.

My body’s focus at the moment is to make milk for Adley, but I would really love to lose those 10 pound by my birthday in December. I think that is a reasonable goal! Small changes will go a long way!

How did you lose your second baby weight?

I swear it fell of faster the first time!

Weigh in Wednesday

 

I'm happy to report I am down -3 pounds from last week! It's amazing what making smarter choices (avoiding the drive thru) and getting my body moving (fitbit) will do!

I've lost over 11 pounds in like 3 weeks and I really want to say that this isn't normal. I am exclusively breastfeeding Adley so that is a major calorie burner right there! Plus, you need to know how badly I was eating before. 

In my experience, the only way I can lose weight is to track everything I put in my mouth and exercise. I still have an occasional fast food meal or coca cola, but I cannot do that everyday! I wish I could. Right now it is willpower that I haven't opened the chocolate bars I purchased yesterday for s'mores this weekend. 

Now I have only 13 pounds to go to get to pre pregnancy weight! Woohoo! 

Follow me on MyFitnessPal (mrsryan555) if you want to see how I work in foods I love in moderation. Ha! I'm also on the fitbit network but I have no idea how to add friends. :) 

Weigh In Wednesday

I think I will jump on this train again. I need to keep track of things and stay accountable. Unfortunately, my scale needs a new battery (and a nicer attitude) so I won't be weighing in this week.

I have started working out and I feel great. I'm not that consistent. I'm trying to ease back into things. Last week it was just taking a walk a few times. Very casual and with the kiddos.

Monday night I actually attempted Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred and it wasn't terrible. My tailbone(or sciatic nerve) hurt a little afterwards so I don't know if I overdid it. I'm a little sore, but not really. I kind of did my own pace but I didn't feel like it was too much. I'm going to start out doing it every other day and go from there.

I definitely feel more like myself when I exercise. Now if I could just get a grasp on this eating better deal.

I'm tracking calories on MyFitnessPal (mrsryan555 - look me up). I'm giving myself 2000 calories a day. This may seem high, but I'm also exclusively breastfeeding (supplying nourishment for a tiny, growing Adley) and that's more important than dropping weight. I read some where that breastfeeding burns 20 calories an ounce, and I pump/nurse 5-6 ounces at least 6 times a day. So that means I could be burning up to 700 calories a day feeding my babe! Thank you, Adley! Hence the 2000 calories!
Plus, as much as I'd love to drop the weight quickly, it needs to come off slowly. So it will stick. It took 9 months to gain almost 50 pounds, so I'm giving myself time to lose that last 25 pounds.

I know by continuing to exercise and by fine tuning my eating, I will get there. :)

Body Talk

So here is the post I have been dreading talk about. Why write it Shelli?

Because.

Because I want to embrace the journey. I want to embrace the body I’ve had, have, and will work to have!

I have realized I love growing babies. I also have realized it takes me roughly 50 pounds to do that. Ha!

Here I am all puffy and HAPPY about to have Adley. Best day!

It took me 6 months to lose my baby weight with Kendall, so I am giving myself that amount of time to do it healthily this time with Adley.

My ultimate goal is my honeymoon body. See below. We will talk about that much later.

For now, I have 25 pounds to go to get to my prepregnancy weight. First, lets say “woohoo” for losing 25 pounds already! Go me! Go breastfeeding. Ha!

Here is a pic of me from a few weeks ago. How cute would this dress be if I didn’t have a postpartum pooch?

But now its time to eat better and start walking and start drinking lots of water.

My first goal is for my rings to fit. :)

 

I can’t really count calories too much because I have to maintian my milk. And I would like to ease back into a workout regimen. I’m going to start walking every week and then try my 30 Day Shred videos in a few weeks. I can’t wait to lift some weights!

I want to be a good example to my girls. Kendall is at an age where she watches everything I do, so I need to be careful how I talk about my body. I also want them to see how I treat my body so they will follow in my footsteps.

 

I wouldn’t trade my stretch marks for anything! They show me what my body has accomplished and given me. The two most beautiful girls!

March Meltdown

I came across this website yesterday called dietbet.com and I am so pumped! I posted the link and some of my family and friends have joined!
Basically everyone buys in and must weigh in 48 hours before the start date (Monday). Each person will have a goal to lose 4% of their body weight. Everyone that reaches the 4% weight loss at the end of 4 weeks SPLITS THE POT!
I love competition so this will be a great motivator for me!
Have you ever done something like this before?

BEFORE Pictures Eeek

I can’t believe I’m about to do this but we are all friends, right? RIGHT?

These were taken 2 weeks ago. I wouldn’t be posting them if I wasn’t on week 3 of C25K. I wouldn’t be posting these if I was going to start the Ripped in 30 program with my husband per his request that he wants to do “one of those crazy” workouts. Isn’t that cute? He wants to do it after Kendall goes to bed. Ha! Date Night!

Anyways, every one else and their mom has posted their BEFORE pictures on the internet and it seems to hold them accountable. I mean I will DELETE this blog before I post pictures where I haven’t lost any weight. Seriously.

So here it goes…

  

(excuse the hair flip motion shot)

Here are my stats as of today.

Weight 163 (-4 loss from August holla!)

Goal 145

Size 10 pants (Goal size 6-8)

Arms – 12"

Chest – 36.5 (D’s please holla!)

Waist – 31

Hips – 37.5

Thighs 23.5

These are my measurements after I did 3 weeks of the 30 day Shred. I have lost 8.5 inches and KEPT them off. I’ve also kept off 4 pounds.

I need to KEEP working. Starting with Week 3 Run 2 tonight… Laters!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Happy Labor Day! I hope you have the pleasure of sitting at home today thanks to paid holidays!
I am living it up in my sweat pants and doing school and house work. :)

I woke up this morning and did Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred ( I love/hate you Jillian) and took my weekly stats all before breakfast. I try to only weigh myself once a week but let's be honest, I step on the scale every morning "just to see".

2 weeks ago when I started exercising/counting calories I had a goal weight loss of 27 pounds. For more information, you can click on the "Weight Loss" tab at the top of the blog.

Here are my two weeks stats.
-3.2 pounds
-5 inches

Clearly, exercise is helping! I haven't noticed a big difference in the way my clothes are fitting but the proof is in the pudding and/or measuring tape! I think this is where I will see the biggest difference in my body because I have gone from no exercise to exercising almost daily.

 Now I wish I could sit here and say I'm okay with losing more inches than pounds, but I'm not. I had really hoped the weight would be melting off. To be honest, I know it's my diet. I am still eating a lot of crap! It's ok if it's in my daily calories, right? MyFitnessPal does not judge me if I had a 210 calorie Kit Kat bar for breakfast! I feel my best when I plan my meals ahead of time and stay away from temptation.

So... I think I might try and make sure I'm consuming calories that count. Instead of a candy bar for breakfast or a small fry at lunch because I have the calories to spare, I should eat more nutritional and "better for me" meals. I think these food decisions will help the pounds melt away.

My first goal is 10 pounds and I plan on taking progress pictures at that point to share with my blog friends!
Are you trying to lose weight?
What has helped you?

Let me see that scale drop!

Today is a happy day!!! Let's just say I thought my weight loss had plateaued and I was stuck in the 1_0's. I had been at 1_0.4 for weeks. Like how I missed a crucial number???? So I was uber excited about weighing 1_9.8 this morning!!! Go me! I should really subtract an additional .6-.8 off of that weight because I hadn't pumped/fed Kendall yet! I've never been so happy to see the 1_0's!!!
Now if I can just fly through the 1_0's I will be in comfortable territory and I can kill it with exercise!!! I will be swimsuit ready in no time! Holla!

In other news... I've yet to mention that certain a baby, her momma, grandma and aunt are all going on a girls trip starting tommorrow.... who could I possibly be talking about? And where are these females going??? Here's a hint...

Any clue?

Let's go swimming!

I did something gutsy a few weeks ago. With -20 pounds to go I bought a swimsuit. Not this one. That's for when I drop -20 pounds. In the meantime if a situation arises where I will be completly crazy and get my white butt in a pool/lake/ocean etc. I will be prepared.

I bought this from Old Navy. It was on sale $25 and I couldn't resist. I took a picture of myself in this swimsuit while I was in the fitting room. I'd love to be all confident and share this photo on here but I can't. Sorry.

However, when I reach my goal and the old navy swim suit no longer fits and I purchase a sexier and smaller sized swimsuit I promise to post the fitting room picture.

Although I won't post the picture I must say I was pleased with how I looked in the swimsuit. It's a very flattering swimsuit for my curvy frame and I think I look good for having a baby 5 months ago. The size is large. I want to buy a medium so I'm not far off. :) I'm proud of ME!

Because I'm one of "those" moms... I went ahead and bought Kendall a matching swimsuit. I'd be delighted to share a picture of her modeling the suit but I bought it 2 sizes bigger so she hasn't tried it on. The way babycakes is growing it should fit by summer!!

Kendall's suit:

 

Weights!

Another great weekend has come and gone... I enjoyed spending time at home with Chris and Kendall. She's with Grandma V today and I'm posting quick before I get started at work.

I can't believe I forgot to mention this last week! Thursday my mom and I took Kendall to get weighed at Babyology. Her target weight range was like 11.4-13.7 for her age/height.

My baby girl weighed in at 12 lbs. 14 oz!!!! She's gained 4 pounds since birth and is growing perfectly! Love her!

In other weight news... I lost another 2 lbs!!! Yay! It feels so good to see that scale drop each Sunday! I really haven't even made any dramatic changes to my diet nor have I been exercising. I've just been more conscious of what I'm eating.

This and that

Happy Tuesday! Many things to discuss before I forget....

#1

Project Hot Mom: Weighed in after a week of calorie counting with sparkpeople.com and we are down -2 pounds. Woohoo! I've been off track since then but it's a long way until next Sunday weigh day! I'm going to put a weight loss tracker on here to keep me motivated!

#2
If you are a mom you need HAVE to sign up for these websites.

Babysteals.com & Motherofadeal.com

Sign up for their email alerts and they send you AWESOME deals!

Today they have tutus and legwarmers. I seriously LOVE putting legwarmers on Kendall. I'm not shopping today though because she has way too many already!

#3

Does anyone watch 19 Kids & Counting? I do. I like the show but last night when the mom (Michelle) had to take a pregnancy test before going skydiving. Ridiculous. Stop having babies.

#4

Kendall is officially in 6 month clothing. I'm pretty sure 3 month stuff that fit her last week no longer does.... there must be steroids in my breastmilk or something! She is growing too quick!

She came with me to the office today - isn't she precious?

Have a GREAT day!

Project: HOT MOM

Okay here's the deal. I think it's time to start one of my New Year's resolutions. The Losing weight one. Ugh. I need want to lose 30 pounds.

I have a plan. It's pretty simple.

Eat Better and Exercise

I'm going to go about doing this with the help of sparkpeople.com. I was using their tools before I got prego with Kendall and had success. I had to update my profile with my current weight and my current weight back then was like 15 pounds lighter than I am right now. I thought I was fat then! I'd love to only have 15 pounds to lose - but I have 30 - yuck!

I will try and keep you posted on my progress as I lose weight but I don't want to turn this into a weight loss blog.