Saturday, April 27, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
23 Weeks PP
Alright, back down to 5 lbs remaining. It always amazes me just how difficult these last 5-10 lbs really are to lose!!! I did the P90X Ab Ripper all week, some running, did another race (The Highland Mudder, which was sooooooooo fun!!!), some deck of cards Plyo workouts and attended Stroller Strong Moms a few times. I was also able to burn 1,000 calories in a day without too much trouble, so I will be pursuing that challenge further. At the moment, my muscles are pretty sore and my hip flexors and joints in general are killing me, so I'm taking a bit of a recovery week. My husband is leaving town for a few days so I can't do my runs sans kids and it's kind of a perfect time to take it easy. I plan to do a bunch of yoga and am already excitedly planning my hard core new workout plan for the following week!!! I can't wait! At the moment still eating whatever the heck I want, whenever I want, although I am toying with the idea of a once-a-week/24-hour detox.
Total weight gained: 46 lbs
Weight lost: 40.8 lbs
Weight left to lose: 5.2 lbs
Fat %: 22.8
Muscle %: 38.8
Total weight gained: 46 lbs
Weight lost: 40.8 lbs
Weight left to lose: 5.2 lbs
Fat %: 22.8
Muscle %: 38.8
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The 1,000 Calorie Challenge
So remember like 3 days ago when I said I was going to count the calories I was eating? Yeah, that's not gonna work. Today I drank part of a Gatorade before Ashton spilled the rest. I have no idea how much. I gave him a piece of pizza, but I ate the crust and dipped it in a tiny bit of blue cheese. Oh and he didn't finish the last 3 bites of his pizza, so I did. No idea how many calories. I'm sure some extensive google searches would help me out, but I'm gonna have to side with Sweet Brown on that one. I never realized how much food I share with my toddler until I tried to count the damn calories. As someone who has never had a problem over-eating or even eating when I'm not hungry, all the trouble is not worth it to me. So I decided to approach this from a different angle: I LOVE my new Polar watch, which (combined with an included heart rate monitor) calculates the amount of calories I burn when I exercise. So I aspire to burn 1,000 calories a day. And then eat whatever the heck I want. Considering that I burned over 600 calories in Stroller Strong Moms alone this morning and I do a lot of other little workouts throughout the day, I think that should be perfectly possible. If I am completely fatigued, I will burn some calories walking or doing yoga. Or I'll add some push-ups. There is a way, every day. I am also going to count playing the violin, but I'm going to leave breast feeding out of it for now, even though that alone burns about 500 calories a day. So starting tomorrow (Wednesday), this is the new plan!!
In the meantime, here are some more comparison pics to keep me going.
In the meantime, here are some more comparison pics to keep me going.
Run, Run, Run!
The bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday weigh heavily in everyone's hearts, particularly in those of runners all around the world. I consider myself a new runner. Sure, I got myself up to a 5K level after Ashton was born and then stopped altogether, but now I can tell I will never stop, as long as my legs will carry me. Ever since I ran the 5K for SMA last month, it's been a recurring realization that running is a privilege. I run because I can, and as I have seen many people around me who cannot run, whether it be due to a paralyzing disease, injury from a car accident or in war or any number of incidents that can occur in a blink of an eye, I realize that I will run as long as I can because this privilege can be revoked at any day, any time. As a non-runner none of this meant anything to me at all. This is why I tell people sometimes "Why don't you try to run? Just try. It will change your life." All that being said, I'm all about living life to the fullest and challenging myself every time I possibly can. Sure, I want to lose weight and look good naked and feel good and all that, but it's a journey worth taking as long as you can. It's the main reason I'm a professional musician: there is no "I did it! I'm done!" Your journey is your life. If I were to recommend anything to anyone who wanted to get started on exercising, I would say these things:
1) When given the choice to walk or run, always run. You can always stop if it's too much. Always try the push-ups from your toes. Always do the harder version first. You may surprise yourself.
2) Make little goals along the way. I recently accomplished my goal to complete Insanity, which I originally bought 2 years ago. I finally did it! Goals are what make the world go round.
3) Music, baby. It's my life. And I can't run without it. I spent some time googling runners' playlists to see what got them motivated and I learned one thing: it doesn't matter what gets other people motivated. You need your own playlist. I may be the only person who runs to a shuffle of Stravinsky's Apollo ballet, Metallica, "This little light of mine" by Raffi (makes me think of my kids), Chopin Nocturnes, Justin Timberlake, Pitbull, Brahms, Michael Jackson, etc. It works for me. Music is the best part.
Happy running!
1) When given the choice to walk or run, always run. You can always stop if it's too much. Always try the push-ups from your toes. Always do the harder version first. You may surprise yourself.
2) Make little goals along the way. I recently accomplished my goal to complete Insanity, which I originally bought 2 years ago. I finally did it! Goals are what make the world go round.
3) Music, baby. It's my life. And I can't run without it. I spent some time googling runners' playlists to see what got them motivated and I learned one thing: it doesn't matter what gets other people motivated. You need your own playlist. I may be the only person who runs to a shuffle of Stravinsky's Apollo ballet, Metallica, "This little light of mine" by Raffi (makes me think of my kids), Chopin Nocturnes, Justin Timberlake, Pitbull, Brahms, Michael Jackson, etc. It works for me. Music is the best part.
Happy running!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
22 Weeks PP
This was a fun week. Despite the fact that I seem to have hit a bit of a plateau in my weight loss (although I lost fat and gained muscle this week, so that's good!), a couple things happened. At the conclusion of the Stroller Strong Moms Get Fit Challenge, I ended up winning in the "Most Weight Lost" category...which I could attribute to Insanity OR I could attribute to the more likely reason that I was lucky to have just had a baby when the challenge started and probably would have lost weight anyway. So I feel a little bad that I was given a gift card for that, but I guess I'll consider it a push present. :) It's not that I wasn't working hard, I just think I had an advantage that maybe no one else had at that time. Anyway, I suppose I will shut up and be grateful.
The second bit of exciting news this week is that I did indeed finish Insanity!! Albeit a week and a half late, but I can confidently say that I tried my best on every single workout in the program and my level of fitness has, without a doubt, improved by leaps and bounds. Insanity is a very well-designed workout program. Shaun T, who is credited with creating it and leads it in the videos, is an excellent trainer. The amount of time spent warming up the body in the beginning, stretching, doing the actual workout, and cooling down is really perfect. I finished every day feeling tired, sore in a good way, and never injured. I would highly recommend this workout to anyone who is not pregnant, injured, or has a medical condition that would make it impossible to push yourself. No matter where you are in your strength when you start, you will be much stronger when you finish, and that is the beauty of Insanity. There is one thing I ended up being slightly disappointed by in the end. While my whole body is now toned, I didn't slim down as much as I wanted to. Insanity is mostly a plyometrics program. I worked hard every time, was dripping buckets of sweat, and pushing myself to my max. However, the moves require a lot of strength to be able to do quickly. There are only so many times I can jump and do push-ups before my muscles need a break because I had no strength when I started. So when I would have to stop for a little break, it was almost always not because of my heart rate being too fast, but because my muscles were just so tired. In the end, I don't regret any of this though because my goal was not to just lose weight and get thin, but to get toned and develop muscle. Insanity toned me a LOT and slimmed me a little. I am very much looking forward to getting back into a lot of running and spinning now, which is what has slimmed me down in the past, while still keeping up with target toning exercises.
I have said many times that I won't diet. I have decided to more or less keep track of my calories though, especially after the dizzy spells I was having last week. I plan to maintain a very vigorous workout schedule and want to make sure that what I am putting in my body is working efficiently to keep me safe and get the results I want. I also ordered one of those badass Polar watches/heart rate monitors that all my friends have (what can I say, they look cool) so I can get a good idea about how many calories I am burning as well. I am very excited to see what this week will bring!
Total weight gained: 46 lbs
Weight lost: 39.4 lbs
Weight left to lose: 6.6 lbs
Fat %: 23.0
Muscle %: 39.2
The second bit of exciting news this week is that I did indeed finish Insanity!! Albeit a week and a half late, but I can confidently say that I tried my best on every single workout in the program and my level of fitness has, without a doubt, improved by leaps and bounds. Insanity is a very well-designed workout program. Shaun T, who is credited with creating it and leads it in the videos, is an excellent trainer. The amount of time spent warming up the body in the beginning, stretching, doing the actual workout, and cooling down is really perfect. I finished every day feeling tired, sore in a good way, and never injured. I would highly recommend this workout to anyone who is not pregnant, injured, or has a medical condition that would make it impossible to push yourself. No matter where you are in your strength when you start, you will be much stronger when you finish, and that is the beauty of Insanity. There is one thing I ended up being slightly disappointed by in the end. While my whole body is now toned, I didn't slim down as much as I wanted to. Insanity is mostly a plyometrics program. I worked hard every time, was dripping buckets of sweat, and pushing myself to my max. However, the moves require a lot of strength to be able to do quickly. There are only so many times I can jump and do push-ups before my muscles need a break because I had no strength when I started. So when I would have to stop for a little break, it was almost always not because of my heart rate being too fast, but because my muscles were just so tired. In the end, I don't regret any of this though because my goal was not to just lose weight and get thin, but to get toned and develop muscle. Insanity toned me a LOT and slimmed me a little. I am very much looking forward to getting back into a lot of running and spinning now, which is what has slimmed me down in the past, while still keeping up with target toning exercises.
I have said many times that I won't diet. I have decided to more or less keep track of my calories though, especially after the dizzy spells I was having last week. I plan to maintain a very vigorous workout schedule and want to make sure that what I am putting in my body is working efficiently to keep me safe and get the results I want. I also ordered one of those badass Polar watches/heart rate monitors that all my friends have (what can I say, they look cool) so I can get a good idea about how many calories I am burning as well. I am very excited to see what this week will bring!
Total weight gained: 46 lbs
Weight lost: 39.4 lbs
Weight left to lose: 6.6 lbs
Fat %: 23.0
Muscle %: 39.2
Saturday, April 6, 2013
21 Weeks PP
Ha ha....ha....hhaaaaa...I feel like there are many things that have prevented me from working out lately (AKA FINISHING INSANITY!), like working a lot and having some ridiculous dizzy spells that made me unable to get around my house without holding on to furniture, but I'm soldiering on and feeling perfectly fine today. It's harder than I expected to combine the randomness of my life with that intense program. If all goes according to plan (When does it ever? Would be a nice change!), I will be done on Monday night! Time to DO THIS!!
As far as stats go, I gained two freakin pounds this week. I blame it on trying to eat all day yesterday when I was feeling dizzy, but who knows. According to my fancy scale, I gained half a percentage of muscle, which is the most I have ever gained in one week. I also gained a little fat too, so that sucks. I know there are ups and downs though and while I know people are pretty supportive about how I look now (thank you, guys), it's just not gonna work for me. So...yeah. I'm not trying to be a whiny little bitch about it or say I'm fat, but I'm fat for me and feel this pressure coming from the outside to "just relax, you look fine". I maintain pretty high standards for myself and because I know I can be better, I'm not interested in mediocrity. I really think I WILL reach a point where I am happy with at least my weight and frame, and I will gladly acknowledge when that time comes, but that day is certainly not today!
In the meantime, coming soon: Insanity completion post!!
Total weight gained: 46 lbs
Weight lost: 39 lbs
Weight left to lose: 7 lbs
Fat %: 23.2
Muscle %: 39.0
As far as stats go, I gained two freakin pounds this week. I blame it on trying to eat all day yesterday when I was feeling dizzy, but who knows. According to my fancy scale, I gained half a percentage of muscle, which is the most I have ever gained in one week. I also gained a little fat too, so that sucks. I know there are ups and downs though and while I know people are pretty supportive about how I look now (thank you, guys), it's just not gonna work for me. So...yeah. I'm not trying to be a whiny little bitch about it or say I'm fat, but I'm fat for me and feel this pressure coming from the outside to "just relax, you look fine". I maintain pretty high standards for myself and because I know I can be better, I'm not interested in mediocrity. I really think I WILL reach a point where I am happy with at least my weight and frame, and I will gladly acknowledge when that time comes, but that day is certainly not today!
In the meantime, coming soon: Insanity completion post!!
Total weight gained: 46 lbs
Weight lost: 39 lbs
Weight left to lose: 7 lbs
Fat %: 23.2
Muscle %: 39.0
Friday, April 5, 2013
Accepting the Unacceptable
I cannot tell you how many times I have started to write this post and stopped because I just HATE this topic so very much. My blog would not be complete without it though. I hate this topic because while I KNOW I will lose all the weight and I KNOW I will tone my muscles to look amazing, there is just a whole room full of elephants. There are things that happen when you get pregnant and have a baby that you cannot change with diet and exercise. Sigh...where to begin? There are certain weird things like skin discolorations and losing a bunch of hair after the birth, which is terrifying, but those things go back to normal. I know women whose feet grow during pregnancy and never shrink back to their original size. Same goes for hips. I'm super lucky because out of all the things I just mentioned, all I have had to deal with is the hair loss, and it's unpleasant but it eventually stops. I have to admit that originally my single greatest fear after having the baby was...you know...the whole "throwin a hot dog down a hallway" thing. Sorry, that's probably the best way I can put it! In a way, I'm happy that I couldn't have been more wrong and that most women I have talked to were equally surprised at that not being an issue (who knew??) especially with the lovely discovery of kegal exercises, so that's was a pleasant surprise indeed! Yay, Mother Nature, you got something right in this twisted game called procreation! Ok, so how about the other stuff? Let's talk about bellies first. Some women have diastasis recti. Google it for a complete definition. I'll tell you now that it's a separation of the abdominal muscles as a result of pregnancy, which can sometimes cause that belly "pooch" that NEVER goes away for some women. I feel very, very lucky that I did not have that with either baby, although I have read that there are exercises that can eliminate the muscle separation. The belly is a challenging thing anyway, because after all, that's where that GIANT baby grew. I am speaking cluelessly because I got pregnant one year after my son was born and didn't have a chance to see how toned I could make my belly after having a baby. I also wasn't really trying to tone it. I guess it looked good, but it wasn't skin tight like it was before I ever got pregnant. That is something I'll have to work on and see if it's possible now that I'm done having babies. I believe it is. But I think it must be THE most difficult area to tone. I'm always up for a challenge though. Maybe I will have a blog devoted entirely to belly-toning after this one ends in August...hmm...
It's time to talk about stretch marks. Something like 80% of pregnant women get them somewhere on their body. I got some with both pregnancies. With Ashton they were on my boobs, butt and thighs and not a single one on my belly. With Aurélia I got just a couple small ones on my belly and my hips and none of the places I had them with Ashton. They have already ALL faded and are nearly invisible. I never had the big red ones, so I'm pretty grateful about that. Stretch marks suck though. I know, there's that quote about a tiger earning her stripes, being even MORE beautiful after, yadi yada, whatever, I HATE them and always will. I love my babies but I don't need permanent scars to remind me how they contorted my body, thank you very much. They are not bad though and again, I'm very lucky and I will have no problem wearing a bikini when I'm toned enough, I am not embarrassed by them (especially since they are becoming less and less visible anyway), but YEAH, I miss my old pretty skin that was smooth EVERYWHERE.
And last but not least...boobs. Freakin boobs. Contrary to popular belief, what happens to your boobs is a result of pregnancy, not breast-feeding. They grow a billion sizes too big, look amazing for awhile (unless you get stretch marks), then you get these weird brown "National Geographic nipples" (apparently so the baby can find them...come on...really, evolution? We haven't come past that??) and you feed your baby and your boobs look okay... but then you stop. And they shrink back to their original size... But they aren't perky anymore... And again, I am no expert because I barely had stopped nursing before I got pregnant again, but I hope those dang nipples at least become pink again. I have talked to some friends who tell me they managed to acquire pretty decent "lifted" looking post-baby boobs with weight-training, so you can be damn sure I'll be doing a lot of that. In the meantime, hey, if anyone wants to pay for my boob job, I would be more than happy to accept it. So yeah, that's my candid post about all things truly miserable. It had to be done. Back to business as usual!
It's time to talk about stretch marks. Something like 80% of pregnant women get them somewhere on their body. I got some with both pregnancies. With Ashton they were on my boobs, butt and thighs and not a single one on my belly. With Aurélia I got just a couple small ones on my belly and my hips and none of the places I had them with Ashton. They have already ALL faded and are nearly invisible. I never had the big red ones, so I'm pretty grateful about that. Stretch marks suck though. I know, there's that quote about a tiger earning her stripes, being even MORE beautiful after, yadi yada, whatever, I HATE them and always will. I love my babies but I don't need permanent scars to remind me how they contorted my body, thank you very much. They are not bad though and again, I'm very lucky and I will have no problem wearing a bikini when I'm toned enough, I am not embarrassed by them (especially since they are becoming less and less visible anyway), but YEAH, I miss my old pretty skin that was smooth EVERYWHERE.
And last but not least...boobs. Freakin boobs. Contrary to popular belief, what happens to your boobs is a result of pregnancy, not breast-feeding. They grow a billion sizes too big, look amazing for awhile (unless you get stretch marks), then you get these weird brown "National Geographic nipples" (apparently so the baby can find them...come on...really, evolution? We haven't come past that??) and you feed your baby and your boobs look okay... but then you stop. And they shrink back to their original size... But they aren't perky anymore... And again, I am no expert because I barely had stopped nursing before I got pregnant again, but I hope those dang nipples at least become pink again. I have talked to some friends who tell me they managed to acquire pretty decent "lifted" looking post-baby boobs with weight-training, so you can be damn sure I'll be doing a lot of that. In the meantime, hey, if anyone wants to pay for my boob job, I would be more than happy to accept it. So yeah, that's my candid post about all things truly miserable. It had to be done. Back to business as usual!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
My Inner Figure is a Size 2
Having a baby is interesting because to some extent, you have the opportunity to decide how to reshape your body. Of course, baby or not, people always have this opportunity, but when you have a baby, the task becomes quite a bit more obvious. I think that so much of it is making your external appearance reflect who you feel that you are inside. There are so many different sizes and shapes of women that are beautiful. And different people find different things attractive. Sure, you can see on TV/movies what is "in" and how the so-called ideal woman's figure has changed over the years, but not everyone SHOULD look the same. We all have different heights, different boob and hip sizes, different attributes, etc. I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to be pregnant twice and experience some serious extremes. For example, going from an A cup to a D. Wowza!!! Going from being a super skinny size 0 to gaining 65 lbs and having curves in every place you can imagine. I know women who have a baby and realize they LOVE being curvier and try to stay that way. It is all about how you feel your body was meant to be shaped and what makes you confident and happy. I naturally have hips. Always have. So no matter how skinny I get, I will always have an hourglass figure. However, by nature I am small-chested and only 5'2". I have thought about this a lot lately, and I am most confident as a size 2. Being very curvy, as I have been and continue to be even now, drives me CRAZY, to be honest. It's not that I think it's unattractive. It's just not me. And it scares me when I see it in the mirror because I feel like I am in someone else's body and the kind of clothes I want to wear look weird. I like being small. I like being petite and able to fit in tiny spaces. I have been a size 0 and looked skeletal, so I think that is too small, especially with my hips, so I don't believe that "skinnier-is-better". Anyway, my point here is that I am realizing there is so much more to this process than simply losing the weight that was gained during pregnancy. It's about finding yourself and reflecting it on the outside. Which for me is: Size 2, curvy hips, toned body, ridiculously pale (I don't have any interest in tanning), and long hair. :) That's what the little cartoon character of myself looks like in my head. I just need to make the mirror reflect the same. Maybe this is what turning 30 is all about? Took me this long to figure out who I am.
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