So...... I'm Pregnant...!

Okay so you were probably wonder where the h-e-double hockey sticks I have been these past few weeks. Well, I peed on some sticks and found out a few weeks ago that I am in fact.... pregnant. I am 7 weeks tomorrow.

It's a surprise, that's for sure. We weren't planning on having another quite this soon, but alas, the gods had other plans in mind for us!

I am sure that this "diet" and exercise has been a tremendous factor in helping "fix" my PCOS (Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome). Basically, I don't ovulate more than 2 - 3 times per year, which was why it took us about 2 years to have our son. We went through tons of fertility appointments, drug therapies, and crying. So for me to ovulate on my own, AND get pregnant, well that's special.

So, that being said, I am so glad I did this journey. I ended up at a respectable 15 lbs away from pre-pregnancy weight. This pregnancy I am taking much more serious in terms of exercise and eating habits. I don't have that "privileged" feeling I had the first time around. I am NOT gaining the 70 lbs I did last time. It was hard on my joints, muscles, and my mentality to boot.

I will keep going with this blog. But I will start weighing myself and watch it SLOWLY go up. I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale this morning and I was 166.4 lbs. I am also running/walking a 5 k this coming Sunday, AND I am walking/running a 5 k on race weekend (the one I had mentioned before). I want to be one of those "cute" pregnant ladies this time.

I will also post picture of my belly starting at 8 weeks. I didn't do that last time, and I sort of regret it.


Anyways, that's that. Keep checking in, I'm definitely not taking this as a "give up" scenario. I think of it as an opportunity to keep up with it and have a healthy pregnancy.

Week 11: Day 3 - Lost week

Sorry for not updating last week ladies, I've had a crazy week, which I will tell you all about in the near future.

I had a significant loss last week! I was down 5.5 lbs!! I couldn't believe it when I stepped on the scale. I was so proud, I let out a big "whoo hoo!" and everyone thought I was crazy. I didn't care, I was so happy. All this hard work and good choice-making is paying off.

Good choice of the week: I went to a concert with my sisters last Sunday, and beforehand, we went out to eat. I was SO tempted to order my favorite buffalo chicken fingers. I hmm'd and hawed... I went back and forth in my mind. I thought to myself, "I've been so good, I can be bad just this once..." But then I thought about how I would feel the next morning. And I knew I would be so disappointed in myself. So my sister suggested she would order them, and I could have one. I ended up ordering a garden salad with grilled chicken and balsamic vinagrette for myself and I had one of my sister's chicken fingers. I never thought just a taste would ever satisfy me. But it did, and I didn't feel like a pile of garbage the next day.


So that one good choice made all the difference. Yay me!!

Week 9: Day Six - 10 lbs lighter

I'm now 10 lbs lighter! WOW. It came off slowly, but there it is! I measured my hips and they are now down to 43 inches, which is 1 inch down from the last time I measured. Amazing what 10 lbs can do. I am feeling good again, things are looking up. I ran 3 miles (4.8 k) on the treadmill yesterday.  I did it in 34 minutes. Not bad! I'd like to pull it down to under 30 minutes. I am finding it very challenging to squeeze in my workouts when I just want to see my son after a long day of work.  He isn't very patient with me when I work out, it's hard to keep him entertained long enough.

I am loving the longer days. It makes it seem as though there is more time to do things. Now I just need the weather to get warmer and I should be able to make working out with my son easier. I have one of those running strollers that someone gave me as a hand-me-down. I'll just have to get used to using it. Anyone have any experience/advice about a running stroller they'd like to share?

Funny enough, I think I am the same weight as I was this time last year, 20 weeks pregnant. It's almost like I'm crisscrossing, watching myself in reverse. I am starting to SLOWLY feel "sexy" again. There was a point where I really felt as though no one would give me a second glance. It's nice to feel that way again. Don't get me wrong, my husband is very good at making me feel sexy, but it really does comes within and follows you throughout your day, doesn't it.

Week 9: Day Three - Support

Thank you so much ladies for your support.  Because of your words, ladies, my weekend went very well.  I kept surging on. I woke up this morning and felt amazing that I hadn't turned to food to solve my insecurities. So THANK YOU for that.  I needed some REAL voices, that truly understand my struggles to hold me up as I'm falling down.  And I'm proud to say that this time I broke the vicious cycle (feel bad, eat, feel worse, eat, feel bad, etc. etc. etc...) This time, I felt bad, and I DIDN'T eat, and now I feel good again. Go figure.  Holy crap, that was hard though.  Fighting my inner demons was hard. They're so convincing sometimes. I find you can convince yourself of anything if you put your mind to it. Which can either work in your favor or set you up for failure.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you step on the scale and it's a good number, you somehow convince yourself that you're allowed to eat badly? Why do I do that? Just because a number on the scale is good, doesn't give me the right to slander all the progress I have made. Maybe I'm the only one, but I really have to fight myself sometimes after a weigh-in.

I signed up for the 10k race in May. I thought I'd do the 5k but I KNOW it's within me to work hard and do the 10k. I will just have to work that much harder, and that's what motivation is all about. I did the 10k in 2009, and I loved every minute of it. Here I am running in a race in 2008.

I see pictures of myself running and I wish I could go back, and stand in the side-lines and cheer me on.  I wish I had appreciated it more than I did. I'm glad I have a photo so I can remind myself of how I felt in my running days. It's easy to forget once you stop for a certain amount of time. This time when I get back to this, I will definitely not take it for granted. I will look at myself in the mirror when i get back from a long run and tell myself how proud I am.

Anyways, I've switched my Weight Watcher day to Wednesday because I really like the support ladies better on Wednesdays. We had to go Wednesday last week because my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law couldn't make our usual Tuesday. Turns out, I like Wednesdays much better. I actually got a "good job" when I stepped on the scale another pound lighter. Oh! AND I got my 5% sticker!  Never thought I'd be so excited about a stupid sticker!

Have a good week ladies! Thanks again for the support.

Week 8: Day Four - Old Habits Die Hard

Okay so I went to a wedding on Sunday and for some reason, I felt like the fattest cow.  All those feelings of insecurities came rushing back to me.  I feel like I ended up right where I started before this whole journey.  I even wore Spanx and I still felt huge.  I couldn't stand it by the end of the night when the dance floor started I pulled my husband away and we took a cab home.

I had psyched myself up for this for the past 2 months.  I felt really good at first, but as the night wore on, I felt like everyone was judging me. I thought I was over this, but I guess old habits die hard. I kept trying to tell myself that I was overreacting, but I just couldn't shake it.

Anyways, I know this isn't an encouraging post, but I guess it had to happen sooner or later.  Today my the pants I bought for going back to work (size 14) were way too loose on me, so that brought myself back up a few notches. I am still about 30 lbs bigger than I was 2 years ago, and that still resonates with me.  I need your help ladies.  Some words of encouragement would be great right about now.. 

Week 7: Day Six - Jillian (my girl crush)

Oh Jillian, let me count the ways.  I have a love/hate relationship with Jillian Michaels.  She is one tough lady.  But, she seems to be the key to my success.  As I had mentioned in a previous post, I did the 30 Day Shred and have now started another one of her videos Blast Fat, Boost Metabolism.  Thank goodness I did the 30 Day Shred first.  It really prepared me for what was to come on BFBM.  Basically BFBM is the same as the 30DS except added kickboxing moves in between so you can catch your breath.  Instead of a 20-30 minute workout, it's a 40-50 minute work out.  After I'm done, I am sweating buckets, and my heart rate is revved up.  I really enjoy it because you don't need any equipment.  She uses your body weight to work you out.  In my opinion, this is the best way to exercise.  Getting your body moving vs. standing there and pulling weights on a machine is far more effective for weight loss.  She uses jump-training and honestly, I have never moved my body like that before.  When I first did the jump-training moves, I thought I was going to die.  It's not so bad now, but still gets my heart rate like nothing else.

I am going to try No More Trouble Zones today, another of Jillian's masterpieces.  This one uses 3-5 lb dumbells, so I can start to tone my arms. They're a li-tt-le flabby.

Oh yeah, and I weighed in at WW - I was down another pound, so 173.2!

If you have any questions about Jillian, please feel free to ask me!

Week 6: Day Five - Holy Cow!

I'm down 3.5 lbs this week!! YES! Finally some faster progress!  Now I'm really revved up and ready to take on next week! I intentionally went to the other lady to weigh-in although she wasn't much better in terms of encouragement.  I don't know if it's because they're very busy or what, but I find they are very rushed there.  I don't ever get a "good job" anymore like I used to.  Maybe it's the new program?  I know that I'm just an number there, but I have been doing WW off and on for over 10 years and I used to always get encouragement at the scale.  Also, in total I have lost 7 lbs, and I didn't get a 5 lbs goal sticker.  I know it sounds lame, it's just a stupid sticker right?  But I worked HARD for that stupid sticker.  My mother-in-law had to ask for both of hers as she has lost 11.5 lbs total.  So it's not just a one-time thing, seems to be a theme at this location.

Anyways, on with the positives.  I made some oatmeal raisin bites from one of the WW pamphlets.  They are really good! I added Splenda instead of sugar, so that probably brought the points value down.  I've never bothered to make a recipe before so I'm pretty pleased with myself!  Next week I will try something new.  I get the e-tools free for 2 weeks so I'll see if it's worth keeping it or not.  Anyone recommend any low-fat recipes they love?  I hate making something new and having it turn out to taste like pure garbage.  It's such a waste of time. 

I'm still adjusting to my new life as a working mommy, but I think things are working out pretty well so far.  I have a nice routine everyday and it surprisingly includes everything.  My little guy is very laid-back so it's easy to not worry about him during the day when I'm at work.  The babysitter sends pictures and updates on how he's doing, and that helps too.

I am looking forward to running outside again.  Two years ago, I did a 10 k and I loved it.  Last summer I was pregnant and decided against running.  I'm going to sign up for a 5 k in May.  This will give me incentive to train regularly. There's nothing like running outside as the sun is setting, and you're floating off the pavement.  I want that feeling again.  It's very addictive, but in a good way.

Anyways, I'm very happy with my weigh-in this week.  And I think I needed the large change this week.  I have honestly been working very hard, and I believe I can chalk up my last weigh-in to my wonderful monthly visitor.  I didn't mention it last time because I didn't want it to sound like I was trying to make excuses.  Thanks a lot Aunt Flow.