Days 4 & 5

I didn’t post yesterday with it being a holiday, so today I’ll double up:

Wednesday I did pretty good at keeping within my calorie range, but I kind of “slipped” a little bit for two reasons: 1. I didn’t get in a workout, because 2. Instead, I went to my bff’s house and drank 2 glasses of wine while sitting on her porch swing, talking and laughing and watching the rain. But that’s ok, because while I was there, we had a really uplifting conversation about being fabulous. I was so worried about the calories in the wine she was FORCING down my throat (really! She twisted my arm HARD!!!) and she pointed out to me three years ago, I was completely fabulous: pretty, confident, funny, and the thinnest I had been since high school…and I drank wine ALL. THE. TIME. Sometimes being fabulous isn’t just about how you look but also about how you feel. Those 2 glasses relaxed me and I was able to talk and laugh and just enjoy the moment. And that, my friends, is fabulous.

Yesterday was the 4^th and I had the day off work. I slept in really late…9:30, which is crazy for me since I usually get up at 5:30! I got up and found that Jason had been up since 7:30, gotten the baby up and fed, cleaned the kitchen, and made coffee! This is huge! I then realized that he was probably letting me take it easy because when I came home the night before, being all relaxed and happy from the wine, I gave him the most awesome back massage and he was returning the favor. I asked him if that was the case and he said yes. I said “so that means, if I’m nice to you and do nice things for you, you’ll be nice to me and do nice things for me in return?!?!” He replied “it’s amazing, isn’t it?”  So I’ve decided to try to be a little bit nicer to him from now on because yesterday morning was a real treat of me, and it was awesome.

With it being the holiday, I splurged a little bit by having a strawberry short cake with dinner. I was still within my calorie range, though, so I wasn’t really worried. In the evening, I went for my 45 minute power walk at the park and it kicked my butt! I really thought I wasn’t going to make it through but I just kept going, knowing I would thank myself later. And I did, because after the little guy went to bed last night, Jason made us each a second strawberry shortcake. I was able to enjoy it since I had burnt extra calories from my walk, which allowed me to stay within my calorie range for the day even though I had a second late night snack. J

Day three and still motivated!

So I know that I’m still in the newborn phase of my transformation to fabulosity, but I’ve gotta say that this whole  “working out” thing is the shiz (so far)! Last night was the third evening in a row that I did my 45 minute power walk and then when I got back to the house I did some light weight lifting with 5 pound weights. I realize that this may seem like a very light workout to a lot of people, but to me it’s huge.

I was planning on taking the baby for a walk at the park in his stroller again, but right as we were finishing up dinner my mom called and said she was on her way over to the house. She stayed for about 45 minutes, and by the time she left it was getting later and I knew that by the time I packed up the stroller and the baby, drove to the park, put in our 45 minutes, packed the stroller and baby back up and headed home, it would be cutting really close to baby’s bed time. So I decided to do what I did the night before, and just walk the neighborhood after he went to bed.

***Let me pause here for a minute to say that I know that a lot of people think it would be VERY dangerous to go walking alone after dark. But I live in a very sleepy little town, everybody knows everybody else, the streets are well-lit, and the crime rate is like 0.00001% around here. I’m pretty safe. J

I did the same amount of exercise last night as I did the night before, but I didn’t feel like I got quite as good of a workout. It was close, and I actually sweat more last night, but I didn’t feel like it was as challenging. I guess my body is getting ready for a bigger challenge!

I also kept within my calories yesterday with about 90 to spare, which was awesome. And I consumed 14 cups of water! That’s almost an entire gallon; I don’t think I have ever drank that much water in one day in my entire life! And I didn’t even feel bloated or anything, I was amazed.

Aside from my weight loss challenge, I am taking a few other steps towards fabulousness as well. My two vanity points, and the two things on which I have always received the most compliments, are my hair and my smile. But for the past two years, I haven’t been taking special care of them to play them up. Well, no more! On Sunday I started the Colgate Optic White regimen and it’s promised a whiter smile in 7 days if I follow the directions correctly. Well, I have been religiously brushing my teeth with the toothpaste and special toothbrush for 3 minutes, and rinsing with the peroxide-based mouthwash for 1 minute, twice a day since Sunday. And yes, I have actually been timing it with the stopwatch feature on my phone because I want this to WORK! So far my mouth feels super-duper clean, but I haven’t noticed a big change in the brightness yet. But, it’s only day three so I am going to keep it up and maybe by Monday I will see a difference.

As far as my hair goes, I used to be obsessed with my hair; it was long and thick and healthy and I spoiled it rotten with expensive shampoos, conditioners, and  “miracle” products. But since lil’ guy came along I haven’t had the time to take special care, nor the funds to purchase those wonderful products. And while my hair is still healthy enough, it’s been feeling kind of coarse for a while now. So last night I washed it with regular shampoo and then used the Garnier Fructise leave-in “sleek” conditioner and went to bed with a wet head. I woke up this morning with the smoothest, silkiest head of hair that I’ve seen in 3 years! I can’t stop touching my own hair it feels so nice!

So, these are just a few more baby steps towards being fabulous. Right now I still feel pretty motivated and I hope the motivation stays with me for a long time, because I know it’s going to take a while.

Day 2 of being fabulous

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling great and very excited to begin the path to fabulousness. I got up early, drank my water, ate my hard-boiled egg (packed with protein! Sensible in calories! The perfect breakfast food!), hopped in the shower and did my hair and makeup. While I didn’t turn any heads, I didn’t look awful  and at least I felt great, which is a great start.

I had my lunch and dinner menus planned for the day, determined to stay within my 1200 calorie per day range. I was excited to take my 45 minute power walk with the baby at the park in the evening. But, even the best laid plans get thrown wrenches, and mine went completely down the drain when Jason called me at work to let me know his parents had invited us over for dinner and an impromptu get-together with some family members. AWESOME (note…this is sarcasm).

Don’t get me wrong, I love going out to visit his parents; it’s always a good time. But, I don’t get off work until 5:30 pm and they live a half hour away, so we wouldn’t even be getting there until at least 6:00. By the time we eat, visit, and everyone gets their fix of loving on the baby, we’re not looking to get home till at least 9. Then I have to get the baby a bath and do his bedtime routine, leaving me no time at all to do our walk at the park.

But the lack of exercise was among the lease of my worries last night. What scared me last night was the fact that his family loves to eat. We’re talking major foodies here, and they always serve up tons of deliciously fatty and high-caloric appetizers and meals and desserts and boozy drinks. For the non-dieting person, it’s heavenly. For the overweight formerly-fabulous girl who is on a mission to re-gain her fabulosity, it’s sabotage.

But, I would never  deprive my love of the opportunity to see his family, and so I agreed and at 6:00 we pulled into Dieter’s Sin Palace (also known as “his parent’s place”). When we got out of the car of course the first thing that happened was the baby was snatched from my arms by his grandma, and we were encouraged to grab a plate of food while Grandma loved on the little guy. I walked into the kitchen with apprehension and discovered the components of the evenings feast: grilled baby back ribs with Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce. A plate loaded down with grilled pineapple. An absolutely huge and scrumptious looking pasta salad just loaded down with fresh veggies, black olives, and Italian dressing. An equally large pan full of baked beans with bacon. And a large bowl of plain steamed white rice.

I thought to myself, “I can do this. I can make this work”. I helped myself to a small serving of the ribs; take away the bones and it was probably about 4 oz. of meat which is considered serving size.  I added one scoop of the pasta salad and one scoop of the rice, and thought I’d be good for the night. But, the pasta salad was just soooo amazing and so I convinced myself that I could have another very small “half-sized” portion and that I would still be within my calories for the day.

After eating, visiting, and letting the baby play in the mud and dirt and chase his cousins around (which was completely adorable, I might add), we left around 8:30 and got back home at 9. I gave the baby his bath, put him in his jammies, fed him his bedtime cereal, and out him to bed. By the time I finished with him, it was 9:40 pm and I had no intention of going for a power walk alone in the dark.

But, about 10:15, I caught myself falling back into my old pattern of going to the kitchen to look for a snack. I know I wasn’t hungry, I was just practicing my routine but the urge so snack was so overwhelming that I literally had to go talk to Jason and ask him to please NOT let me snack no matter how bad I wanted one. He told me “you’re not hungry, you’re bored. Why don’t you just go for a walk?”  And I thought to myself, “he’s right”. SO, last night at 10:25 pm I found myself with my iPod, power walking the quiet streets of my sleepy little town. I went at it for 45 minutes without stopping even one time and I. Felt. AMAZING! As a matter of fact, I didn’t even feel like stopping after 45 minutes but I did because 1. It was 11:10 pm and 2. I knew that no matter how good it felt in the moment it could seriously hurt in the morning.

I came back into the house and logged my calories for the day and in the end, I discovered that I did GREAT for the day! I was slightly over my 1200 calories (DAMN that extra serving of pasta salad!)…BUT with the 310 calories I burned with my 45-minute power walk, my calorie range increased and I still had 98 calories left to spare! And as an additional “yay for me”, I exceeded my required water intake for the day with 12 cups of water!

This morning, I was a little sore when I woke and hungry as a wolf. So I had a bowl of Kashi and soaked my achy muscles in a hot bath (which feels SO good first thing in the morning!). And now, I definitely feel a little bit fabulous and am really proud of myself for doing so good yesterday.