Week 2 of 21 Day Fix Complete!

This is actually a really late post considering Thursday is my last day of the 21 Day Fix but with work and becoming ill for a couple days, I have not exactly given the blog a lot of priority. 

I am feeling so much better though and the sun is even shining! Shining! I was starting to think we moved to Alaska in my sleep. Even my mood has improved at the sight of the sun. It is nice to actually want to be productive and get off the couch. 

Ok but back to the 21 Day Fix. Week 2 was 100% better then week 1. I can tell that I am getting better at the meal planning and it really helps. My meals are more balanced and actually look/taste delicious. For example, on Friday I had salmon, brown rice, and green beans for dinner. All portioned. Topped with lemon and a little hot sauce. 100% 21 Day Fix approved and it was fantastic! I was not hungry afterward and it really made me feel like I was making progress. It also helps that the hot sauce makes me extra thirsty which increases my water supply. Water was definitely key in week 2 also. I was drinking a TON. And it showed.

I lost more weight (and inches!) during week 2 and I honestly felt better. I don't know if it was necessarily thinner but  my clothes were a little more comfortable and I felt I looked more tone. I take my final pictures on Thursday and am really interested to see if I have really changed or its all in my head. 

I have plans to do another round after a short break and I am hoping this will put me at my pre-baby weight. How exciting is that! Probably not so much for you but I am thrilled. 

I did a handwritten meal plan this week but once I get it on Excel, I will post it. 

One more week!

Happy Eight Months Marlee!

Eight months ago Marlee was born!

Can you believe it?

Because I am still in disbelief with how she has grown so fast.

 

We did a mini photo shoot this month because I was in a hurry and honestly, she is getting impossible to get a clear picture of. It is constant head shaking, or arm waving, or trying to escape the camera. Either way, she is so darn cute.

 

 

Still no teeth for my Marlee. She drools like crazy though and gnaws on everything so they are coming - just not today. And apparently once teeth come in, you have to worry about them rotting? What the f is that all about? Brush those teeth little ones!

 

She is standing up on furniture and even takes a couple steps with her walker. She prefers to crawl though and has mastered this maneuver. It is a very dramatic crawl but a crawl none the less. One thing she does not want is to be restricted. God forbid I attempt to keep her from rolling off the step from the kitchen to the living room. I would think after a couple face plants she would listen but nope!

 

It is hard to say no to that face though.

 

 

With all the moving and adventuring she has been doing, she is now discovering different parts of the house which is adorable but extremely destructive.

 

Her new favorite place is the kitchen.

 

Robbing the fridge,

 

 opening up cabinet doors,

 

and generally making messes.

 

Full time job right there folks! My little tornado. She even found some cantaloupe in the fridge to eat. Impressive.

 

Yea and then this happened. I had to keep her contained during my workout and she did not want to be in the playpen. She is pretty smart though and figured out how to climb under her saucer to escape. Nick and I are doomed once she starts walking.

Doomed.

 

But so lucky.

Weight Recheck

As previously mentioned, Marlee had to go back to the doctors to get reweighed after losing a couple ounces. We increased her solid intake and it definitely paid off! She has gained 4 lbs in two months and the doctor was very pleased. She is right back on the 50th percentile for weight and is a perfect 17.9 lbs. The doctor was also impressed that she was standing up on furniture, walls, toys, anything she can get her hands on, considering she is still only 7 months. I told him that she is one determined baby and likes to be independent as much as possible. I am going to have my hands full once she is walking...

It is starting to hit me that my baby girl is not going to be a baby much longer. I have cleaned out her drawers yet again and have another banana box sized load to pack away. We already lowered her mattress and upped her bouncer to the next highest level. She tries to feed herself and is now drinking juice like a big girl does. She takes steps with her walker and crawls all over the house. And she is hilarious! So much personality! Ugh. Someone remind me that having two under two would be crazy! 

Right?

We have been really busy lately which is why there is a lack of posts but here are some pictures to hold you over. 

Sleepy babe

Escape babe

Pasta eating babe

Trying to escape (again) babe

Pretty in pink babe

Playing with her cousin

Vintage dress babe

Diaper butt babe

 Laundry babe

Oh and Marlee is 8 months old tomorrow!

Week One of 21 Day Fix Complete!

I have officially made it to the end of week number one on the 21 Day Fix and would like to share some of my experiences on the program so far.

1. You will not starve to death - I really thought at the beginning of this challenge that it was all about starvation. The less I eat, the less I will weigh. Even putting together my food plan was tough to stomach because I knew that I would be unsatisfied at the end of the day. I will admit that the first couple of days, I was hungry and a little low on energy. My body adjusted though and I realized that I was not drinking enough water which is also a filler. Now I am on day 7 and I honestly feel great. I even had a couple days which I did not eat all of my portioned food. Sticking with it is definitely going to be an accomplishment to be proud of.

2. Coffee is my downfall - At this point in the challenge, I have noticed my biggest downfall is coffee. I am a huge coffee (with cream and sugar) drinker and the cream and sugar is a no-no while on the Fix. I will be honest and say that I have snuck in a couple cups of coffee here and there but no where near the amount I was drinking before. I am a mother and I work midnights - I need a caffeine crutch every now and then.

3. Portion control - I have actually been doing great with the portion sizes and with trying my best to portion everything out in advance. The bottom drawer of the fridge is the 'me only drawer' and everyone in the house knows it. I portion out cucumbers, boiled eggs, cheese, celery, chicken, lettuce etc etc. so it is all there for me to grab and go. I have actually been pretty good with eyeing portion sizes and it is getting easier to know how much lettuce or chicken or oatmeal I can have. This will be important on Saturday when Nick and I go out to eat. I am not cool enough to bring my little containers along for measuring...

4. Working out with Autumn - Amazing. I absolutely love these DVD's. They are short, sweet, and to the point. The added weights make it a little harder and I definitely break a sweat during the half hour. Plus the DVD's are new everyday so I don't get bored throughout the week. I have been 100% with my workouts and plan to stay that way. No cheating here!

5. Weight loss - I will say that I have lost a little weight so far on the 21 Day Fix. Not as much as I had hoped but it could have just been a bad weigh-in. I lost inches too so I am going to stay positive and work extra hard this week. I am sticking with my goal of loosing 5 lbs but deep down I am hoping for more. One day at a time!

I completed my meal plan for week two since Marlee was a peach and took a nice long 2 hour nap.

It is not perfect but I think I am getting the hang of it.

Ok now to breakup all the fitness talk, I will leave you with the cutest darn picture I have seen all week.

Love these two!

Sleep Well

I have to admit that Nicholas and I have been a little frustrated lately with Marlee's teething process. She has been getting up every 2 hours during the night making the days extra long and the nights even longer. I know this is teething related because it is so out of the norm for her. She is an all night long sleeper and she has been for as long as I can remember. So this is definitely exhausting for mom and dad. 

More for dad since nights is kinda what I do. 

Tonight as I was rocking her back to sleep, she snuggled up to my chest, reached her little hand up, and held my face. Like she was saying, "mommy, I just want you near me." She slowly fell into a deep sleep but continued to keep her hand on my face. I smelled her hair and it made me think of how we prayed to have her. And how someday she won't want me to hold her anymore. How someday she will be a 'big girl' and fall asleep without being rocked. 

So I rocked a little extra longer and played with her hair a little longer. I kissed her cheek and placed her to bed. 

Sleep well little Marlee.

But if not, I will be back to rock you. 

 

Ohio Weather

Three days ago we had a nice terrible little snow storm and yesterday it was 64 degrees and sunny. 

Today it is cold and rainy to be followed with snow tonight. 

Friday it is supposed to be 55 degrees. 

If mother nature would make up her mind, it would be great. 

Regardless, I spent the one nice day we had with my mom and enjoyed a great lunch followed by a walk on the Towpath. It was glorious! The sun felt so good and we had a perfect breeze so Marlee didn't get too hot. I will definitely be making it part of my spring/summer routine. 

Marlee was in toy land at Grandmas. 

And she loved the walk so much that she fell asleep. 

So the 21 Day Fix officially starts tomorrow and I finished my Meal Plan for the first week. This was my homework for the last three days and it literally took me that long to finish it. It was a lot harder then I thought! I mean just thinking that far in advance is difficult. And with work days, I have to plan a little differently as far as when I eat 'breakfast' and 'dinner'. I tried to figure in breakfast to be eaten at 4PM and my 'lunch' to be my big meal at midnight. Then do some small snacking till morning. We will see how this goes and adjust as needed next week. 

Cheers to the next 21 days! 

Package Arrival

I just received my 21 Day Fix pack in the mail and I just want to say that there is a large possibility that I am going to starve to death. The containers are small.

Really small.

Challenge now doesn't start till Thursday so everyone in my group can get things prepped and ready to go. I am filled with nervous energy but staying optimistic.

I will say that I had my first Shakeology with some almond milk and it was pretty good! Still has the taste of a protein shake but I would have no problem drinking them on the daily. Add some peanut butter or a banana in there and it could honestly be a little addictive. Assuming it does what it is supposed to!

Even Marlee was fascinated with my new containers!

Sorry for blinding you with the flash ol' big eyes!

Ok now to do some meal planning for the next couple weeks!

I will leave you with a video of Marlee and Isaac. She loves her brother so much!

Have a great week everyone!

21 Day Fix

I am embarrassed that I have even gotten to this point but after mentioning to my husband that I am ready to sell my soul to the devil in return for being thin, I needed to do something.

After much debating and another failed attempt at Insanity (damn you three day weekend!), I went and found myself a Beachbody coach. She convinced me to buy the 21 Day Fix which included a month of Shakeology.



Rippedclub.net

 

This is the bottom of the bottom for me and my weight-loss journey for a number of reasons. First, I wanted to do things the way I did it before my wedding. I worked out and ate right. Not all the time, but enough to work toward my goal of feeling beautiful in my wedding dress. It was a no brainer. Yes I did enough calorie counting to make any sane person rip their hair out but it was relatively simple - lower calories and more exercise = results.

But I digress.

After convincing my husband that this is exactly what I needed to jump start my weight loss again (yes dear, they are expensive containers and no, they do not come with food in them), he agreed to help with my goal and even said he would join in! As long as he could still eat chocolate cake and drink beer.

I have not received my order yet but I am just so full of nervous energy. The second reason this is do or die (not really) is that I am pretty firm in my beliefs that exercising is free and meal replacement shakes, pills, etc are not the answer so I am completely going back on everything that I have ever said. Eating my own words if you will but I am determined to make this work. Portion sizes are my biggest problem and I think this program will get me back on track.

 

The general idea behind the 21 Day Fix is that you workout using the DVD's for 21 days. Combined with the workouts are portion control containers which pretty much spell out exactly how much a person should be eating in a day. Add in the meal replacement Shakeology and you have yourself the 21 Day Fix. Oh and I should not forget my coach Janet and the awesome group of moms she put together for encouragement!

 

Onehealthynut.com

 

I am not expecting miracles here. I would like to loose 5-10 lbs. I am not expecting abs and to be back to my pre-baby size in one cycle. Actually, I do not want abs. Ever. Why would a mom need abs anyways? I am pretty sure a teenage Marlee would appreciate her mother keeping her stomach covered at all times and not showing the world her creepy mom abs.

Once again, I digress.

I would like to stay focused and actually complete this program. I want to show myself (and my doubting husband) that I am capable of staying strong for 21 days and getting results to be proud of. I am ready to get over this weight loss plateau!

 

So the reason I take the time out of my busy schedule to type this (ha!) is because one thing I read was to commit publicly. The article stated that no one wants to look bad in public which is so true! So here I am committing to 21 days. And I will give a weekly update of my progress.. which is a whole 3 posts so I won't overdue it!

 

Starts on Monday so wish me luck!