Week Five-I'm bored with my food!!!

I just got back from my Wednesday Body Back workout- whoo hoo, I am still sweating!! I keep thinking these workouts will get easier, but they don't.  Each time my instructor mixes it up and we have yet to repeat a workout.  Crazy!!

Last week I did try a class at Purre Barre with my mom and it was super hard, but I can see how people get results really fast.  I am going take a class twice a week for a month so I can mix it up my other workouts.  The clientele is a bit different then my girls at Body Back, but its all good, I am there for me and I don’t have to impress anyone.

At weigh in on Monday, I lost another .6lbs for a total of 6.2lbs.  It was not was I was hoping for, however, some weeks I will lose more the others.  The good thing is I am consistently going down and that makes me very happy.  Every single day I have someone tell me how great I am looking and that is motivation enough to keep going strong on this journey.

Just last night I said to Jeff that I am bored with my food and that I wished I could mix it up a little and be creative.  When I am bored with something that is where I tend to fall back into old habits.  Thank the Lord we were given our brand new shiny and clean food journal #2, today in class!!!  Hallelujah!!  I am back in business.

We are off on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday so we don’t weigh in again for a week.  My goals to stay on track are:

1. Plan all workouts in advance and schedule it in my calendar
2. Stock my refrigerator full of healthy foods, make a few meals in advance and have easy snacks on hand so I don’t get tempted
3. Be mindful of the even the little decisions

Today is Jeff's birthday!  Happy Birthday to you, my sweet husband.  I love you with all my heart, mind and soul.  Thank you for sharing such a beautiful life with me and being such a naturally awesome father.

Tame the Shrew!

Yesterday was a crazy busy day as usual, with back to back appointments.  So I was waiting until my hubby came home so we could pick up the car, once again at the shop, and I would go over to my mom’s for a workout.  I really need to get those workouts completed in the am and I am working on it, I really am.  It is not fair to my daughter or hubby if I leave them hanging around dinner time even once a week.  But, yesterday I did not have a choice.

As we are racing to get Tori back in the car, I remind Jeff that she needs to eat when he gets her home.  Or at least I think I did.  I probably said something like, “Oh crap, I forgot to make a bottle for her next feeding, which is at 5pm.”  The last 20 minutes of my workout I get a call from Jeff, asking when our baby is suppose to eat next.  Hum, it is just past 6pm and he is now calling me with a very cranky baby in the background???  Really!!!  The shrew in me started to get irritated and feathers were ruffled for sure!!

I race home, open the door from the garage and see a gigantic new pee stain on our sisal rug in the kitchen.  “Oh my gosh Rudy!!  Jeff Rudy just peed on the rug again!!!” (Rudy is our 11 year old Maltese.)  Jeff is in the next room changing a pooping diaper and has the audacity to tell me that it was there when he arrived home.  I flew into a rage that would shame Joan Crawford herself.  I knew as I was screaming, how I sounded, but I didn’t care.  I leave my house and post for 1 hour and it all goes to shit.  I take time out for me and I come home to a huge piss stain and… a happy smiley baby???  Wait, what???  Tori was fed an hour later.  Big freaking deal!  She survived and was so happy to see me and was happily playing peakaboo with her daddy.  

Now to get the record straight, Jeff ALWAYS cleans up Rudy’s pee, except this one time.  I wish he would have just lied and said it happened while he was feeding Tori, but he didn’t.  Lesson learned?  I can take time for myself because I have a willing and sweet husband who loves spending time with our daughter.  My house will NEVER be as clean as it was it in the past, before Tori came into our lives.  And that is ok because I would never want to go back to they way it was.  My life is so much sweeter and richer now and I will remind myself of that every single day.  Next time, I will try and tame that shrew with the first signs that things aren’t going how I want them to.  It is so not worth the energy.

Week Four- Holy Elliptical!!

Thank the Lord in heaven I have found a cardio workout that makes me sweat without hurting my knees!  I am also luck enough to go to my mom's house and use her elliptical and she has a brand new TV to boot.  Now I can really get down to business...watch out!!

I lost another 1.6lbs with a total of 5.6lbs.  A couple of weeks before I actually started Body Back I lost 3lbs, but I am not counting it on this journey.  It's crazy because it seems like I should be losing more, but I am ok with it because I am gaining muscle, strength and endurance all while incorporating good eating habits.  One of the girls in Body Back said she already sees a difference in my appearance.  Of course I gave her a gigantic hug and thanked her for the encouragement.  That is what is so great about this group.  Everyone is at a different place in their lives, but everyone is also cheering one another on.  We all want to be skinny bitches.  Just kidding, we all want to be strong, healthy and fit mothers for our children.  :)

This week my goals are:
1. Stay close to the food journal
2. Stay hydrated because that’s when I feel "hungry"
3. work out hard, I mean really hard at every workout
4. Try a class at purre barre
5. be grateful and thankful that I am able to go through this experience with such encouragement

Below is a photo of my Sunday dinner.  Jeff wrapped tilapia in banana leaves and grilled them with assorted veggies, quinoa and a big salad.  Our cousins joined us and then we all went for a long walk around the neighborhood.  I love Sunday dinners.

My doctor said....nothing I didn't already know!!!...

I went to the doctor on Thursday to make sure my knees were not going to crumble into sawdust before my eyes.  My doctor confirmed that they were indeed swollen and that I had knobby knees.  So what?; When can I get moving aggressively again is all I wanted to know?  He suggested icing them everyday and absolutely no running or intensive knee related exercises.  Power walking is ok, but the elliptical would better serve my endeavors.  Basically, I did too much too soon and I am paying for it. But the good news is I am still on track.  I am not an idiot and think I will get my body back in a mere 8 week session... oh how I am quite aware.  So what, who cares... I am NOT giving up!!! As I said before, this is my newly improved lifestyle and I love it.  I really do.  And I did 40 minutes on the elliptical at Jeff’s work this evening.  I basically threw a fit to get a workout in and it was worth it because I sweated my arse off.

My poor baby girl is really sick.  Her nose is a faucet and she coughs like a seal at Sea World.  Thank God her 6 month appointment is on Tuesday. Jeff and I already took her to the doctor last Monday.  Our doc is so sweet and I really like her, but I could tell as she shook her head she was thinking, “Ahhh amateurs!!  Your daughter has a cold and it will take its course, etc…”  Bummer is that Tori will not be able to join us for a charity event my business partner and I are hosting tomorrow morning.  I so wanted to show her off to all the people I only see on rare occasions.  However, there are other babies attending and God forbid I am responsible for getting the little ones sick.

I will post photos of the charity event in a few days.  I promise you will be greatly inspired.  Again, thank you for reading and encouraging me in this journey.  I am hyped and pumped to see what happens next!

xoxo


Spinach Meatballs I made from the food journal!  They are quite tasty!!





Week Three- Happy 40th Birthday to Me!!

It took all of my entire being to get up and go to Body Back on Monday morning.  My knees were aching so much, Tori had a low grade fever on Sunday evening so I was up every two hours checking on her AND I turned the big 4-0!  I kept telling myself that 40 is just a number, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.  But honestly, I was a bit down.  Maybe it was because my knees were a constant reminder that I was not in my 30's any longer. Anyway, I forced myself to go, received lots of encouragement and felt proud of myself for not taking the pity party to another level.  I also lost another 2.6lbs!!!  Yahoo!!!

I made an appointment to see my doctor on Thursday afternoon for my aching knees.  Hopefully, I have not completely injured myself.  It literally hurts to walk up and down the stairs and if you know me, you know I am not a complainer.  I will suck it up any day of the week, so if I think about it too long I will only get pissed.  I'm staying focused because I know there are other exercises I can do to keep going on this journey and my instructor has assisted me in modifying the ones that hurt.  Please think good thoughts for me.

I had a fabulous weekend with my family.  My sister and mom surprised me by taking me to La Costa Resort and Spa for a day of pampering.  It was exactly what I needed and wanted.  Jeff took Tori all day!!  He is an absolute gem, right??? 

Then my sweet sissy took Jeff, Tori and I to a wonderful dinner at the Top of the Market.  My grilled Alaskan Halibut was incredible.  We celebrated Mother's Day with a light and healthy brunch at our home.  I have always loved Mother's Day because I wanted to make sure the mothers in my life felt extra special.  This year I finally became a member of this sorority and it made me proud.  Tori gave me my first "Mother's Day" coffee mug.  It was not the dorky kind we all use to give our mom's and grandma's.  It was a cute one from Anthropologie!  What can I say; the girl already has amazing taste and she is sitting up by herself!!! 


Tori is now sitting up by herself!!!  Yay!!




Mother's Day Brunch



I Heart Cinco de Mayo!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I absolutely love this holiday!  Number one; it is 4 days from my birthday, so it always gives me an excuse to start celebrating early.  Number two; we live next to the Mexican border so we have access to the very best Mexican Food in the United States.  And number three; one good strong margarita is all you actually need to feel just buzzed enough!  Oh but the empty calories...yikes!!!

This afternoon, Jeff, Victoria and I ventured to Old Town to join the festivities.  We got there early enough to avoid the obnoxious crowd.  Everyone and I mean everyone was having a wonderful time- from the elderly couple giggling in the corner to the swarm of children running around the restaurant.  It was a perfect place to bring our daughter, just in case she starting exercising her voice!

I made sure I got a workout in this morning so I ordered the blackened fish taco with black beans and a "skinny" margarita,(clear tequila, lime juice and a splash of orange liquor).  I was in absolute heaven, enjoying myself and still keeping within the "plan."  We technically are supposed to refrain from alcoholic beverages for the best results, however, this is a lifestyle change for me, and my birthday weekend, and my first Mother's Day.  I made sure to keep within my "allotted" amount, but I did not feel deprived or pissed that I was missing out on something.  That is certainly a victory for me!!

My knees are still very tender, but I am icing a few times a day and taking Advil.  In the meantime, I am doing other exercises to keep me on track.

I have a ton of plans this weekend, so I am sure I will have some funny stories to share.  Thanks again for following.  I would love to hear from you!!

Xoxo

My hubby wants my body back too!!!

Many of you know how great my husband Jeff is.  He is sweet, kind, loving and very, very funny.  However, I just have to brag on him a tiny bit more.  He has been so supportive with regards to this journey I am on.  Everyday he encourages me to do my best and he tells me he loves me no matter what I look like.  I can go on and on about all the wonderful ways he shows me his love.

However, last week he saw how hard it was for me to get up in the middle of the night to attend to our precious girl and then turn around and get up at o' dark thirty to go to my workouts.  He has to be into work by 6am everyday, so I take care of of Victoria's feeding throughout the week.  He turned to me last night before we went to sleep and said, "I will take Victoria during the nights before your big workouts."  What a lucky girl I am, but I also know he secretly wants my body back too!  So I got to bring it!!!

Thanks honey for all the support!

xoxo

Week Two- Sore Knees!!

I made it through Week One of "Mama's Wants Her Body Back," program.  I logged everything in my journal, even the forbidden items (wine!!!).  I am also down 1.4lbs!!! 

However, today's workout was super hard for me.  We did a "traveling workout," which means we had to run, sprint, pushups, jumping jacks and the list goes on and on.  Everybody in the program can run faster than me.  I actually power walk faster than I run because running hurts my knees. Running has always hurt my knees and so I made a choice a long time ago that running is just not for me.  Well, that is not an option in this program, so I got to get it together.  Apparently, my form is wrong when I run and that is why my knees hurt and why I am so freaking sore.  As I am writing this I have a package of frozen, no, not peas, corn or green beans, but a package of edamame between my knees to help with the swelling.  The visual is actually quite hilarious and humbling all at the same time.

After hobbling around for most of the day, I kind of started to panic.  What if I cannot reach my goals because I have already injured myself?  What if I can't get through 13 more insane workouts, plus another 3 days of my own workouts every week?  The bad self talk was creeping in big time, so instead of having a pity party, I emailed my instructor and explained my problem.  I am meeting her early on Wednesday before class so we can work on my running, squat and lunge form.  Whewww!!!  I have a plan now.  I just needed to get my head back in the game. 

My goals for this week are:
Stick to the food journal recipes by planning all my meals 3 days ahead of schedule
Workout hard, but give my knees a rest so they will heal
Stay focused and positive

Think good thoughts for me!  I would love to hear from you!!!

xoxo

Sunday Family Dinner!!



Dijon Salmon




















Since my mother-in-law (Lola) has agreed to baby sit Tori for my Monday morning Body Back workouts, Jeff, my hubby and I decided to start having Sunday family dinner.  Tonight was our first dinner and I took a recipe straight out of the "Mama Wants to Get Lean" Food Journal.   Instead of baking the salmon, Jeff barbequed the fillets on cedar planks, to enhance the flavor.  It turned out delicious and our family enjoyed every morsel.  We grilled zucchini and onions skews and added the blackberry salad pictured below.  Aren't the colors just beautiful?

I think Sunday family dinner may become a new tradition in our house.  Lola said the blessing and we all chatted about our weekend and what our upcoming week entailed.  It was truly an enjoyable evening.  I am ready for the week to begin and am focused on working hard in every single workout so I can get the most out of this experience.

I need to get into bed so I will be bright eyed for another killer workout!!  Think good thoughts for me!!!



Berry Salad