I'm RUNNING!

Okay, so I only ran 2 minutes at a time, but the fact is...I'm RUNNING! I am so confident that I'm going to finally start seeing this next 25 pounds come OFF now that I'm working out the way I like to. I ran/walked for 50 minutes today and was sweaty and red-faced at the end. It felt GREAT!

I have decided that I am going to really use the Law of Attraction to achieve vibrant health and the body of my dreams. I've done it before, I can do it again. I've used the LoA to build an amazingly successful business in what's touted as one of the worst economic situations we've faced in many years. Not for me! :) The Law of Attraction works - if you believe it, you can achieve it. I've struggled not with my weight, but with my belief in myself in this area. NO MORE. I know I am beautiful. I know I am strong. I know what is healthy for my body and that I have the strength to make healthy choices.

Watch me transform before your eyes!!! I will even include progress pics. How's THAT for confident. I intend to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight by the end of this year and YOU can join me on the journey!

Tonight's dinner was quesadillas with chicken, organic cheddar cheese, fat-free refried beans, homemade guacamole and salsa. YUM! My daughter said I am the best cook in the world. Tee hee! I can cook!

Okay, I'm all over the place. I will check in again soon!

Planning for a Beautiful Trip

OK, I'm typing one-handed in the dark so please forgive my mistakes. I just had to log on to check in on how I'm doing. We made it safely to Myrtle Beach, despite the tornados that touched down yesterday wreaking serious damage across the region. On the way down, I felt like I was a bit of a tornado myself, wreaking havoc on my recent weight loss success with a torrent of sugary treats. However, the good news is that I achieved my 25 lb goal on target prior to our first vacation with baby Max. The bad news is that I feel like I ate enough on the 10 hour car ride down to gain it all bsck, but I'm sure I didn't and I know I just have to rein it in. I need to make healthy choices and have healthy food around, otherwise, even if I do get a little bit of exercise in, I'm likely to end up looking and feeling really crappy.

So, I needed to come here and confess and regroup. Because I want to enjoy this trip, and I know if I'm in a sugar coma the entire time I won't enjoy it all. Tomorrow, we will get to the grocery store and I will buy lots of yummy fruit and healthy treats.

This place is gorgeous, if you've never been. It's called the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, SC. We have a beautiful 3-bedroom villa with stunning views of the marina and plenty of room for our entire family. I feel blessed and optimistic about what a great vacation this is going to be. I want to feel healthy and beautiful, despite the fact that I am only one third of the way through my current weight loss journey back to pre-pregnant me.

Last night, as we were settling in, my 8 year old daughter and I were taking a moment to watch the sunset off the rear balcony and I suddenly felt compelled to ask her for some reassurance. I asked her if she still thought I was beautiful even though I have all this weight to lose from having the baby. She said, "Of course. You're really, really pretty." In recounting this to my husband, he seemed surprised to hear that I don't see myself in a positive way right now, that I don't feel beautiful. Apparently, the only person who doesn't see my beauty is me. I know if I treat myself well and speak well about myself, I can join the ranks of those who see me as beautiful. That's the plan, anyway. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts!

I Want My Mojo Back

I had my OB/GYN check up today - all is well. I did, however, make the mistake of telling my doc that I've been having some groin pain and that I overdid it on Tuesday walking too fast. I couldn't help it - the weather was finally warm, I was listening to tunes I hadn't listened to in months, and I was EXERCISING! It felt great! But afterward, I had some bleeding, indicating I had, in fact, overdone it. The doc told me that I was not to walk for exercise again, or do ANYTHING strenuous (including carrying my baby in the carseat) until my 6 week recovery period was completely over. POO.

So, one would think this would incentivize me to tighten my food up even more, wouldn't one? Quite the contrary. I went on a carb frenzy - in fact, since 2 pm, I have had nothing but pretzels, french fries and ice cream. WTF!!? Back in my all or nothing mood - just for tonight, though. I am determined to get on the band wagon and take a healthy approach to this last 2.5 weeks before I can exercise the way I want to. Unfortunately, this also means I won't be able to achieve my goal of walking the 10-Mile Broad Street Run, which has been a tradition of mine for the past five years (to run it, not to walk it).

If you're not a parent yet, let this be a lesson to you - the reason pregnancy lasts nine months and requires you to go through unimaginable changes, like weight gain, acne, heartburn, varicose veins, stretchmarks, swollen feet, etc., etc. is that it's the first in a long, long litany of lessons geared toward one important message - IT IS NO LONGER ABOUT YOU. As a four-time mom, this latest lesson comes as no surprise. So, all I can do is roll with it. I WILL be rocking a bathing suit come August though. Cause this little obstacle ain't nothin but a temporary detour.

Where we at?

Hi there, everybody!

So, I bought the first pair of non-maternity jeans today to see where we are. Drum roll please....

...size 18. And a tight size 18, at that. That means, I have gone up four sizes since my beautiful pre-pregnancy size (shown at right).

I'm not worried. I'm seriously on track with food, logging and eating healthy. I even set goals for each week, getting progressively more intense as I continue to heal post-pregnancy. This week's goal is to keep daily calories below 2500, to walk 3 times and to drink at least 3 liters of water daily. If I achieve these goals, I'm putting $25 in the kitty. By the time we go to the shore in August, I will have $500 saved for some new clothes. Yay!

I feel strong and capable. I know my goals may not seem like a lot to others, but at only 3 weeks postpartum (and nursing, mind you), I am determined to not act like a crazy person trying to lose weight at a ridiculously rapid pace but also to stay on track and disciplined, back in good habits and back to being conscious of how I eat. My theory is that this will keep me consistently moving toward my goal.

Stalling and MIA

Wow - I'm embarrassed it's been a whole week since I last posted. Oh, well, better late than never. So, I was feeling slightly stalled in my motivation and weight loss but am here to get reenergized and recommitted! I know I can get my body back - I've done it three times before! So, I went for an AWESOME walk on Tuesday with the baby, the weather was gorgeous and I was loving listening to workout tunes I hadn't enjoyed in months. As a result, I think I may have walked a little faster (and farther) than I should have. Now I'm out of commission. It hurts even to walk. Boo hoo. I'm seeing my OB on Wednesday, so hopefully I will get reassurance that everything is healing fine. Otherwise, I've been logging my food and trying to keep my menu relatively healthy, though it's technically to early to diet. Lord knows, I have no problems with my milk supply. I'm pumping 6-7 ounces at a time and have a huge store already. That's a first for me (and of course it's happening now, while I'm working at home and barely need it.) Anyway, I have to be honest. I'm trying SO hard to stay patient and remember that it is going to take time for me to get back to my old self again. I've already lost 20 pounds in less than three weeks. I hope to have lost 25 pounds by the time we go to Myrtle Beach in two weeks. Then, we're off again to Martha's Vineyard in June. My goal is to lose an additional 20 pounds before that trip - 6 weeks is not a lot of time to lose that amount, but I will be finally cleared to work out so that should help. Then, if I can lose another 20 before our trip to the shore in August (10 weeks to accomplish that goal), I'll be less than 10 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. Just going to chunk it out like that and focus on one goal at a time. I look forward to sharing the journey with you guys!