Withdrawls

Randall and I started with one canister of meal replacement and one canister of protein. Eventually we ran out. We had four days without Herbalife, and boy! That was interesting.
At first I thought it was awesome because I could eat food again. But quickly, like by the morning of day two, I was going through shake withdrawals.
Let me tell you! I really surprised myself. Who wouldn't rather be eating food?
But there I was, so sad to be having to decide what to have for breakfast, what to have for lunch. I really didn't like it.
I'm not sure if it's because I'm so busy, but I found that I enjoy not having to worry about what to eat more than once a day. Unless we're having waffles or pancakes with bacon, sausage, and/or eggs, or even tasty biscuits and gravy, I don't really enjoy breakfast. Lunch isn't my favorite either. Now, if we had dinner-type meals for lunch, that would be a different story. But a generic sandwich with a side is just blah.
So yes, I was elated when I saw the case of Herbalife at my front doorstep. Life became easier and satisfying. Plus, it's nice to be happy with my diet instead of feeling like I'm sacrificing all of the time.
Also, Randall ordered the chocolate flavored meal replacement powder this time instead of vanilla. nom nom nom.
Thank you UPS. You made my day.

Inches not pounds

I hate scales. Hate them. Nothing makes me more sad than working hard all week, stepping on a scale, and seeing that I didn't even loose a full pound. Then there is the anxiety BEFORE I go on the scale. I spent a day and a half dreading that moment.
Just ridiculous.
I actually never owned a scale until Randall started selling Herbalife and asked me to be his Guinea Pig. I really do hate to weigh my self. But, I love my husband more, so on the scale I step.
Fortunately, though I hate to see my pounds, I know better than to put too much stock in them. What really matters are inches, and even more than that, your BMI, lean to fat ratio.
Honestly, I just generally know I've lost weight because my pants start to feel loose even after I've taken them out of the dryer.
But, measuring inches are really interesting.
And that is enough babbling.
Here's my measurement for the week.
Upper chest 37.5
Chest 39.5
Waist 34
Hips 43
Right Thigh 25
Left Thigh 25
Right Arm 11
Left Arm 11.5
Total inches lost 2.25
Now before I get all excited, let's be realistic. I really haven't lost that many inches. I'm not sure if I was wearing a bra when I measured for the first time or not, or if I had just nursed or not. Also I'm not sure if Randall and I measured in exactly the same spot this time. So, I don't think I'll take much stock in inches lost until about a month of measuring.
But I will pay attention to one measurement and that is my waist. Even if we didn't get exactly the right spot the first time, there is an inch difference from the last time we measured. So I feel pretty confident that I did loose a little in my waistline this last week.
Hooray for me.
I can't wait until my size 12 pants become loose.
Things to look forward to that keep me away from the cookie jar.

A good question

Today #2 had a karate belt test. After each belt test we treat the boys to ice cream somewhere. So, as my husband and I were sitting in McDonalds, the kids playing in the play area, myself nursing in the corner (hopefully adequately covered so as to stay modest and not offend), he asked how Herbalife had been treating me. He asked me if I was feeling full when taking the shakes.
This really got me thinking. In my last post I made mention of being full but since he asked me this I will go in more depth.
When I have a shake in the morning I find it the most helpful. Usually breakfast consists of a bowl of cereal, a bowl of oatmeal, or maybe pancakes. I find I'm pretty ready for my first snack about an hour after breakfast. With the shake, unless I'm sitting around my house doing nothing, I don't think about food until about 11-11:30am. That's pretty impressive considering I have my shake somewhere between 6:30-7:00am.
But, I told my husband, the same doesn't apply at lunchtime. Having a shake for lunch, I find I need a snack a couple of hours later and really have to work at not having "the munchies" until dinner time.
I'm a big believer that it is good to eat smaller portions more times throughout the day. Snacks are a great way to keep your metabolism going. Well, healthy snacks anyway. So feeling the need for a snack is not a negative: just a fact.
Herbalife has a meal replacement powder with protein powder. They say to take it for one meal if you're trying to maintain a weight and twice if you want to loose weight. They do not say what meals you must replace. I would personally want to take the shake for breakfast and for dinner. I believe the biggest meal of the day should be had at lunch time instead of dinner time.
Alas, being part of this society that places such value at big dinner meals, it's not terribly realistic to have a shake every night. And, being a Mom with a family, family dinners are very important. I don't want to slave over a dinner every night, then sit and watch everyone eat while I have a shake.
So, most of the week I do breakfast and lunch for my shakes, planning to have a small snack (maybe) before lunch, and a larger snack after lunch. Or, I can put a little more UMPH in my lunch shake- like my spoon full of peanut butter I did today- then have a well portioned dinner with my family.
Tah dah!

Drip drip drop

I wish I were singing the song in Bambi to April showers, but instead I'm singing it to the Texas heat. Another day over 100 degrees and what do I do? Exercise outside. Yup. After this post I might have to peel myself off my suede couch.
Why would any sane person go for a walk, pushing a stroller, when it's tipping the 100 degree scale? Good thing I'm not terribly sane.
My friend had a baby a few weeks before myself and we are both wanting to get back in shape. This is my fourth baby and this is her 6th delivery (she has twins). So a little crazy lives in the both of us.
It's actually quite fun... minus the heat. Our little boys both bike while we push our babies. We chose to walk through our bike trail in our neighborhood and then stop at the swing set again. We were outside for about an hour.
So, drip drip drop.
The great thing about exercising while dieting is they go so well together. I am more motivated to exercise when I'm dieting and more motivated to diet while I'm exercising. This morning I had my Herbalife shake with chocolate almond milk (instead of regular milk), and a banana. So far it is my favorite combination. Have you had Chocolate Almond Milk? It is so very tasty. Thanks, Mom, for introducing us! I like adding ice also.
I am quite pleased with how full and with energy I feel with my shake. I think this week would have been a lot more difficult if I had been starting my day with a bowl of cereal.
So, thank you Herbalife. And thank you my crazy walking partner.
Now it's time to wash off this sweat!

Nothing more than feelings

I don't know if it's the new diet, or if it's that time of the month, or what. It's hard to know when I'm ovulating since I'm nursing and don't have a period. But last night I was in a very mad mood. My husband said something to me that wasn't mean or rude at all. But then I had to leave for a Young Men/Young Women activity (I'm a leader in our youth program) and was stewing over it all the way there. Then I realized I was really angry and started to play out getting into tiffs with various people at the activity. I was just really in that "bring it on" mood, just waiting for someone to say something wrong.
It was a great activity night. We played games and volleyball and pictionary. I got to take out a lot of aggression on the ball, which was good and by the end of the hour and a half I was no longer angry, but wasn't really happy either.
Then I got a call from my sister that they got the house they were trying to buy and they were moving in. I was so happy, by the time I got home I was in the best mood ever.
Unofrtunately, when I walked through the door my 7 week old decided to be in a bad mood and began screaming. So my life for the last couple hours before I finally dozed off with her on my tummy was occupied with pacifying the baby. So is the life of a new Mommy.
Unfortunately, though, now this morning I'd say I'm feeling a little sad and unmotivated.
Maybe I should try to pay less attention to myself. That's far too many emotions to feel in a 24 hr period.
All these feelings and emotions definitely take a toll on dieting.
When I'm angry I love to eat things I shouldn't and have an "I'll show you!" type of attitude. Like I'm going to show the food who's boss.
"That's right, cupcake! I know I shouldn't eat you but I'm going to anyway. Because I am my own person and I can do whatever it is I want whenever I want. And I want you! Right Now!" Nom. Nom. Nom.
That was last night.
Oh boy, it should be a fun day.
In a good note, I took a long walk with a friend yesterday, pushed two boys on a swing for about fifteen minutes, and played volleyball. Very active. Very good.
Today I'm supposed to be going to In N Out with my other girlfriends. Hopefully I won't let my emotions control my decisions today.
Speaking of, I need to get this grumpy body of mine up and moving to help the kids to school.

Epic fail

Yesterday definitely wasn't my best day. It all fell apart when I went to make my Herbalife shake for lunch and my blender was dirty. I guess I hadn't cleaned it after breakfast. Chalk it up to new-mom brain. That wouldn't have been such a big deal except my kitchen was a disaster. I had dishes overflowering out of my deep-set sink. In order to have a shake for lunch I would have had to spend thirty to forty minutes cleaning the kitchen. That wasn't going to happen right then. But that attitude I had about giving up influenced the rest of my day. I snacked a little more, I felt a lot hungrier, and by the end of the night it was one of those nights where I could have probably eaten indefinitely and never felt full. Some tasty cheesecake later and I'm sure I went over my needed caloric intake by, well, a lot. Oh, and I didn't exercise.

One of the best things about failing one day is that the morning is a new day. A new day to have a firm resolve to do a little better, try a little harder, and succeed.

It's important when working on changing your daily habits to maintain a positive attitude and not to get too down on yourself when you fail. I know I'm going to fail. A lot. This is the fourth time in my life I'm trying to loose that baby weight. Every time I've been able to take off the pounds and be pleased with my self. Every time I've become a little more fit than the time prior. My mantra is "healthy is a way of life". I really believe it. But I understand life. We have good days and bad days. Good kid days, bad kid days. Great days keeping the house clean, and days you wish you could walk around with your eyes shut. There is always an ebb and flow. So, failure on any given day does not make ME a failure. It makes me human. That knowledge helps me feel okay when I mess up. Thank goodness.

So today my goal is to get back on track and find one thing to do that will fall under "exercise". I'm going to try to get to my church building and play basketball this morning, but I don't know if people will be there. If that doesn't happen, I'll just have to come up with something else. But that's a whole other post altogether.

Here's to a good day.

Hungry and determined

I'm definitely hungry this morning. I think it has a lot to do with how poorly I slept last night. My six week old has been sick so it's made getting good rest a little more difficult. It was also the first day back at school. My oldest two are in elementary school and even an hour wasn't enough time to get ready. I tried waking them by turning their music on in their rooms. Then I turned the lights on. After my husband turned on the blender #1 woke up but #2 just kept snoozing. I finally had to physically wake him, reminding him it was the first day of school. #2 definitely isn't a morning person. I made my kids pancakes for breakfast with peanut butter and syrup. I also heated up some bacon.

It was a little hard to pass on breakfast with the kids, but being so busy getting everyone ready, taking pictures, giving blessings, and somehow even nursing the baby kept me too busy to talk myself out of my morning meal replacement shake. I got the kids to school and came home then finally made my shake. #3 is probably going to want a shake every time I make one for myself. That's a bit frustrating for me because I feel like it's a waste of food since I'm also feeding him a meal. We'll see if it wears off.

Today I want to go for another mile walk. I am thinking I'll just walk a mile for my first week. If you're really following this blog it definitely won't be fast progress. But this is the reality weight loss story of a Mom of 5, not a celebrity story or an infomercial. I want to set realistic and obtainable goals, pushing myself little by little until I am back at my optimal weight and strength.
Oh, and what is my optimal weight? 140lbs with the appropriate muscle mass... not just 140lbs and all squishy. :D
Here's to a good day!

Beginning weigh in

Weight 170lbs

Upper chest 38"

Chest 41"

Waist 35"

Hips 43"

Right thigh 24.5"

Left thigh 24"

Right arm 11.5"

Left arm 11.75"

Yesterday and today for breakfast and lunch I had my meal replacement with protein powder. I added different combos of bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. Banana seems to be the best because it is the strongest flavor. It's nice to have the blender out again. I really enjoy shakes so I haven't been missing my meals yet. Last night for dinner I had a potluck at a party so it was small portions of random foods like meatballs, stirfry, fajita, carrots, celery, and various fruits. Tonight we had rice and curry. It is fun to talk about all the tasty foods I've had. For desert I had a couple of cookies Randall made.

I think it's really important to eat realistically.I love to eat. I love food. I love sugar. I love treats. I know I won't keep a diet if I don't get to have these things. I also hate counting calories. Really, I'm a horrible candidate for dieting. :)

But I'm a firm believer that being fit and healthy is a life style not some get skinny quick scheme. I know that if I keep a general idea of my caloric intake and balance out healthy meals, I am doing what is right for my body. And as I get more and more into exercise and being generally more active, I will get stronger and that weight will eventually come off.

Choosing to have meal replacement shakes, especially while I'm nursing when it's even more tricky, is something I think I can really do in a safe and enjoyable manner. Lets see how I feel in a week, shall we?

Weightloss challenge

I am going to try to track my progress on my weightloss via this blog. Let's see how it goes.

This is the earliest I've ever tried to start getting back into shape after having a kid. That being said, I plan on starting out very slow with my exercise. I know a lot of people go back into full force after their 6 week clearance, but I've always thought that after such a traumatic experience (having a child) that my body needs more than 6 weeks to fully heal. So I'm going to start by just walking.

I have also decided to do a weightloss program called Herbalife. My husband is starting to sell their product, which is why I chose to do it and also why I'm starting so soon. Hopefully I can be a good success story for him to be able to use.

I will also be very careful to count my calories. Nursing Mom's need to take in an extra 200-300 calories a day.

Later today I'll post my diet regiment as well as my "before" photos and body measurements. Right now I think I'll go for a walk. :)