Well, my original plan, to be nice and skinny by the time I turned 40, failed. My birthday was two weeks ago, and here I am, still fat. The good news is that I am a teeny, tiny bit skinnier than I was. But it's pretty much just a victory on paper.
Today's weigh-in: 233.4
I am the lightest I've been since...well, I'm not entirely sure when. Not sure I got this low after having Ian, and pretty sure I was only about five pounds lighter than this after having Brendan. So I guess that is a good thing.
However, I still have a long, long way to go before I am at a point where I'll feel good about myself (that point is probably anywhere under 175 lbs).
I pooped out on my working out, after trying to make 30 days in September (which didn't quite happen--I think I made it two weeks). However, I've got the chance to start over again. The time change was this past weekend, and unlike spring when we leap forward an hour and stagger around short of sleep, we got an extra hour of sleep when we fell back. If I can keep getting up at the same time--5 am, which used to be 6 am--and make sure that I go to sleep a bit earlier than I would otherwise, I may be able to maintain my workout schedule. I didn't accomplish much this morning, just some marching in place, stretching, a few minutes on the elliptical, and some arm weights. But that still is a good place to start. I need to rotate the weights, walking, and elliptical, because I got really bored doing just the walking workouts in September. I have a Belly Blasting walking workout that I still haven't tried, too.
Also, we are making an effort to eat better. My husband pointed out that the last time we lost significant weight, in 2005 or so, he was just eating a sandwich or cereal at dinner time (because I was coaching swimming and wasn't home until after 9). I wasn't necessarily eating that healthy at that point, but I was working out regularly. We will have to be careful to feed the boys what they need, and try to push veggies and such. We also need to watch out for the leftover Halloween candy, which we have a ton of.
We have some motivation (although that never seems to matter to me). We are skiing for the week after Christmas with my in-laws. I know we won't be skiing all day every day--we have one little one who won't be old enough to do any skiing, and I know Brendan will want to do other things too)--but we need to be in good enough shape to do perhaps half a day each day. That's a lot, so we need to get on it. I'd also like to fit into all my ski apparel...
On an unrelated note, we've passed a few milestones lately. Brendan turned four a couple weeks ago, and he's definitely not a toddler anymore. He started preschool in September, and he loves it. I have no idea what he's actually learning, because he doesn't ever tell us anything about school, but in talking to his teacher, he is apparently at least a well-behaved kid at school. I'm glad, because he is a little turd at home most of the time. He talks back, tells fibs, and spends a lot of time standing in the corner as punishment. Ian has finally gotten around to talking. It's still difficult to tell what he's saying, most of the time, but he babbles a lot and wants to converse. He loves asking questions. He's a cute little stinker. He's started doing some of the two-year-old bratty stuff we saw with Brendan, doing things he knows he's not supposed to do, being a super-picky eater, whining about everything that happens, stuff like that. I'm just glad he's getting more verbal. We really worried about his language skills, but he seems to be getting past that.
Anyway, I will try to post more often. So many goals, so little willpower...
Pool Time
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Monday, November 3, 2014
Sunday, October 7, 2012
A little late, but better than never
OK, so I'm a week late on my post. Sue me.
October 1's weigh in: 228.4. So I did manage to lose a little weight in September. I need to pull up the previous blog posts to see how much. But a loss is a loss. I'll take it.
Today's weigh-in: 227.4 . I guess I'm making progress. I still haven't worked out, and I haven't even really watched what I've eaten, so I'm pretty sure the weight loss isn't permanent.
On the kid front, we're switching Brendan to his "big boy" bed . He actually slept in it for the first time last night. It went pretty well, although it was hard to get him to calm down at bedtime. He had picked out some Cars 2 sheets and a comforter. He took pretty much every toy he owns and put them in his bed. He did wake up four or five times last night, but he's been doing that anyway. I thought maybe he'd get out of his bed and try to get out of his bedroom, but that didn't happen. It DID happen when we tried to get him to take a nap this afternoon. He wouldn't stay in the bed, and it took probably an hour before he settled down and stayed in the bed to go to sleep. I hope he does OK tonight.
We've left the crib assembled in his room for now, because it seemed like a good idea to have a backup plan if the bed wasn't a rousing success. We'll let it go again tonight, and if things go OK, we'll take the crib apart and move it to Ian's room. I had Ian sleep flat on the bassinet mattress last night instead of in the lounger pillow. He has gotten big enough and squirmy enough that he slides down out of the pillow at night, and it probably doesn't help keep his airway open (which was the whole point in the first place). The downside is that he still squirms around a lot and actually moves himself around on the mattress. In the little bassinet, there isn't enough room; he eventually ends up against the side. The crib will be better. I hope. I do worry that he'll wake Brendan up when he wakes up, and I don't look forward to having to walk out into the hall, make his bottle in the hall bathroom, and sit in his room to feed him. It would be much nicer to keep feeding him in our bed. But I guess from a sleep perspective it'll be nice to sleep in a room that doesn't have a sound machine and night light on all the time. Of course, we'll have TWO sound machines running over monitors, so it won't be exactly quiet...
We've had our first snow of the year. Winter is on its way. Here's hoping I lose the winter fat instead of gaining it...
October 1's weigh in: 228.4. So I did manage to lose a little weight in September. I need to pull up the previous blog posts to see how much. But a loss is a loss. I'll take it.
Today's weigh-in: 227.4 . I guess I'm making progress. I still haven't worked out, and I haven't even really watched what I've eaten, so I'm pretty sure the weight loss isn't permanent.
On the kid front, we're switching Brendan to his "big boy" bed . He actually slept in it for the first time last night. It went pretty well, although it was hard to get him to calm down at bedtime. He had picked out some Cars 2 sheets and a comforter. He took pretty much every toy he owns and put them in his bed. He did wake up four or five times last night, but he's been doing that anyway. I thought maybe he'd get out of his bed and try to get out of his bedroom, but that didn't happen. It DID happen when we tried to get him to take a nap this afternoon. He wouldn't stay in the bed, and it took probably an hour before he settled down and stayed in the bed to go to sleep. I hope he does OK tonight.
We've left the crib assembled in his room for now, because it seemed like a good idea to have a backup plan if the bed wasn't a rousing success. We'll let it go again tonight, and if things go OK, we'll take the crib apart and move it to Ian's room. I had Ian sleep flat on the bassinet mattress last night instead of in the lounger pillow. He has gotten big enough and squirmy enough that he slides down out of the pillow at night, and it probably doesn't help keep his airway open (which was the whole point in the first place). The downside is that he still squirms around a lot and actually moves himself around on the mattress. In the little bassinet, there isn't enough room; he eventually ends up against the side. The crib will be better. I hope. I do worry that he'll wake Brendan up when he wakes up, and I don't look forward to having to walk out into the hall, make his bottle in the hall bathroom, and sit in his room to feed him. It would be much nicer to keep feeding him in our bed. But I guess from a sleep perspective it'll be nice to sleep in a room that doesn't have a sound machine and night light on all the time. Of course, we'll have TWO sound machines running over monitors, so it won't be exactly quiet...
We've had our first snow of the year. Winter is on its way. Here's hoping I lose the winter fat instead of gaining it...
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Day 2, I guess
Today's weigh-in: 227.0
Ok, so I haven't lost any weight yet. Going to try the jogging workout again today. Probably.
Trying to think of a good reward for weight loss. You know, other than a big-ass bowl of ice cream. Hopefully I will require some new clothes. $20 per pound? That's $400 if I successfully lose the 20 lbs by the end of the school year. Is that too much? Too little? Can I afford to pull $40 bucks from my paycheck each month, especially with putting both kids in daycare this fall? We'll see.
Ok, so I haven't lost any weight yet. Going to try the jogging workout again today. Probably.
Trying to think of a good reward for weight loss. You know, other than a big-ass bowl of ice cream. Hopefully I will require some new clothes. $20 per pound? That's $400 if I successfully lose the 20 lbs by the end of the school year. Is that too much? Too little? Can I afford to pull $40 bucks from my paycheck each month, especially with putting both kids in daycare this fall? We'll see.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Happy New Year!
Wow, 2012. Wonder if the Mayans will be right?
Anyway, to start out the new year: 217.4
I just haven't felt like eating. No food sounds good. When I do start to eat something, I get a few bites into it and then completely lose interest. Things don't SMELL good either. One of my all-time favorite foods is anything with a lot of garlic in it. But over the holidays my brother-in-law made sausage gravy with a lot of garlic, and the smell made me extremely nauseated. A lot of things that should smell good don't, and a lot of things that smell bad seem a lot worse. I'm sure that's a pregnancy thing, but it's kind of annoying. I'm also still finding that I gag a lot easier--brushing my teeth, coughing, stuff like that. It's actually caused me to throw up a little bit a couple of times. I don't know if I should be concerned about the weight loss. I have an appointment with the OB in two weeks, so if it's still ongoing I'll ask her then. In the meantime, I need to find something that I can eat that actually sounds good. No idea what.
Getting sick while pregnant sucks. I came down with a wicked cold last week which I'm still battling. But I can't take anything. I can take a regular cough syrup, like Robitussin, but that isn't going to do much good. No decongestants or anything like that. So I'm just snuffling and snotting and coughing and there isn't a darn thing I can do about it. Brendan and Ross have it too, so none of us are having much fun.
Well, that's the brief update. All is well, just sick and tired and really not wanting to be at work today (who makes kids come back to school on January 2, anyway?). Hope this is a great new year!
Anyway, to start out the new year: 217.4
I just haven't felt like eating. No food sounds good. When I do start to eat something, I get a few bites into it and then completely lose interest. Things don't SMELL good either. One of my all-time favorite foods is anything with a lot of garlic in it. But over the holidays my brother-in-law made sausage gravy with a lot of garlic, and the smell made me extremely nauseated. A lot of things that should smell good don't, and a lot of things that smell bad seem a lot worse. I'm sure that's a pregnancy thing, but it's kind of annoying. I'm also still finding that I gag a lot easier--brushing my teeth, coughing, stuff like that. It's actually caused me to throw up a little bit a couple of times. I don't know if I should be concerned about the weight loss. I have an appointment with the OB in two weeks, so if it's still ongoing I'll ask her then. In the meantime, I need to find something that I can eat that actually sounds good. No idea what.
Getting sick while pregnant sucks. I came down with a wicked cold last week which I'm still battling. But I can't take anything. I can take a regular cough syrup, like Robitussin, but that isn't going to do much good. No decongestants or anything like that. So I'm just snuffling and snotting and coughing and there isn't a darn thing I can do about it. Brendan and Ross have it too, so none of us are having much fun.
Well, that's the brief update. All is well, just sick and tired and really not wanting to be at work today (who makes kids come back to school on January 2, anyway?). Hope this is a great new year!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Insecurity blanket
First of all, I can get the weigh-in out of the way...215.6. So, I'm losing about a pound a week. At this rate, I'll reach my target weight sometime next year. Great. I need to pick up the pace. I have barely managed to reach my workout goals: last week I marched around the house for 15-20 minutes on Monday and Wednesday, and Friday all I did was 50 crunches. Monday of this week I marched for almost 30 minutes; today I haven't done anything yet. There is roll class tonight for the local paddling club, but I don't think I'm going to go; I have to tutor until the time roll class starts, and if you factor in the time it would take to get there and get home in time to get Brendan to bed by 10, I'd only be there for an hour or so. Not sure if I want to go pay $10 for just that. I might wait until I have a clear evening, maybe one when Ross can go too. Then we can take Brendan with us and maybe get him into a swimming pool for the first time. Not sure yet.
Anyway, I need to make sure I work out at some point today, at least for a few minutes. Also, I need to be better about food. I've fallen back into some bad food habits. Part of my problem is that I'm still eating like I did when I was pregnant, in other words, I'm eating everything and lots of it. I know I need to make sure I'm eating enough to keep my milk production up, but I need to start being choosier about what I select to eat. I've eaten a lot of candy, cake, and ice cream lately, and that's not a good idea for any kind of weight loss program. I need to monitor my portion sizes as well.
As far as the boy goes, he's just a-growing away. I don't have any kind of official measurements, so I don't know where he is on the scale, but I'm a little disappointed in some of his milestones. A friend of mine has a baby boy who was due the day after Brendan but was born several weeks later. Despite the fact he's a few weeks younger, he's bigger (both longer and heavier), his head is bigger, and he's already rolled over from tummy to back. Brendan hasn't rolled over at all, and while he smiles a fair amount he hasn't laughed at all, at least not that I've heard. So it makes me feel like we're behind in some race. I know that's stupid, and I know babies all develop at a different pace, but it bothers me that Brendan isn't keeping up with a kid who is several weeks younger. It's not a competition, but it does make me feel like somehow I'm not doing enough to work on his developmental skills. How insecure am I?
Anyway, we just need to keep on going. Hopefully we'll get a roll over soon. Also, we're about to the point of needing to give up the swaddling for good. He is regularly getting an arm loose, or at least spending a lot of time fighting to do so. If he starts doing that, and rolling over, we'll definitely have to give it up. I need to do a little prep work for that: the bumper in his crib is missing some ties, so it is loose and not even attached in a few places. If he gets hold of it and pulls it off, well, it would be bad. Gotta get some fabric to make ties for it, ASAP.
Anyway, I need to make sure I work out at some point today, at least for a few minutes. Also, I need to be better about food. I've fallen back into some bad food habits. Part of my problem is that I'm still eating like I did when I was pregnant, in other words, I'm eating everything and lots of it. I know I need to make sure I'm eating enough to keep my milk production up, but I need to start being choosier about what I select to eat. I've eaten a lot of candy, cake, and ice cream lately, and that's not a good idea for any kind of weight loss program. I need to monitor my portion sizes as well.
As far as the boy goes, he's just a-growing away. I don't have any kind of official measurements, so I don't know where he is on the scale, but I'm a little disappointed in some of his milestones. A friend of mine has a baby boy who was due the day after Brendan but was born several weeks later. Despite the fact he's a few weeks younger, he's bigger (both longer and heavier), his head is bigger, and he's already rolled over from tummy to back. Brendan hasn't rolled over at all, and while he smiles a fair amount he hasn't laughed at all, at least not that I've heard. So it makes me feel like we're behind in some race. I know that's stupid, and I know babies all develop at a different pace, but it bothers me that Brendan isn't keeping up with a kid who is several weeks younger. It's not a competition, but it does make me feel like somehow I'm not doing enough to work on his developmental skills. How insecure am I?
Anyway, we just need to keep on going. Hopefully we'll get a roll over soon. Also, we're about to the point of needing to give up the swaddling for good. He is regularly getting an arm loose, or at least spending a lot of time fighting to do so. If he starts doing that, and rolling over, we'll definitely have to give it up. I need to do a little prep work for that: the bumper in his crib is missing some ties, so it is loose and not even attached in a few places. If he gets hold of it and pulls it off, well, it would be bad. Gotta get some fabric to make ties for it, ASAP.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Starting my weight loss journey
I was supposed to be starting my weight loss journey with a "Biggest Loser" style competition on a moms' forum that I use, but I haven't been able to log in yet. If the administrator doesn't get me set up today, it'll save me the $5 participation fee, but I'll lose some of the motivation of everyone else on the forum knowing what a fatass I am. You win some, you lose some, I suppose.
Anyway, since I had waited (weighted?) for today, I guess I need to start out with my weigh-in...
218.6
The irony is that this weigh-in is almost exactly the same as my weigh-in just over five years ago, when my husband and I made a decision to start losing weight. That was November 1, 2005. By July of 2006, I was down to 175 lbs, 25 lbs from my goal weight of 150. And then, the wheels fell off, so to speak. I got bored, I got lazy, and I gained it all back.
So now I'm trying to lose it all again. But I need to find exercises I can do at home, since I don't have a gym membership anymore, and exercises I can do in a short period of time, since I have the baby with me all day long. I can't do those three-hour workouts that I used to do.
I suspect this is going to take a lot longer than it did the last time. I just hope it also lasts longer...
Anyway, since I had waited (weighted?) for today, I guess I need to start out with my weigh-in...
218.6
The irony is that this weigh-in is almost exactly the same as my weigh-in just over five years ago, when my husband and I made a decision to start losing weight. That was November 1, 2005. By July of 2006, I was down to 175 lbs, 25 lbs from my goal weight of 150. And then, the wheels fell off, so to speak. I got bored, I got lazy, and I gained it all back.
So now I'm trying to lose it all again. But I need to find exercises I can do at home, since I don't have a gym membership anymore, and exercises I can do in a short period of time, since I have the baby with me all day long. I can't do those three-hour workouts that I used to do.
I suspect this is going to take a lot longer than it did the last time. I just hope it also lasts longer...
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
Wow, I can't believe I am starting out the year as a mom! How crazy is that?
Update on the swaddling: we used the HaloSack again last night. He was REALLY pissed going to bed last night...I let him stay up a little later than usual, but still gave him a bath and used that Johnson's Bedtime wash and lotion and then wrapped him up, fed him again, and tried to put him down. He wasn't having it. I don't know what kids Johnson's did their studies on, but the Bedtime stuff doesn't seem to have any impact on Brendan. He was WOUND UP. The worst thing about that (other than the staying awake thing) is that he kind of hyperventilates while he's eating, swallows a bunch of air, and then spits everything back up all over the place. Yippee. Anyway, I put him down just before midnight, and he stayed down for about 40 minutes and then woke up hollering. I went and fed him again, and this time he popped off to sleep and stayed that way. I put him back down at 12:50, and he stayed that way until almost 6:30. Almost scared me to death. I unswaddled him, changed him, fed him, swaddled him back up again, and put him back to bed. He slept until nearly 10 am. I don't know if he was just really tired or if the HaloSack has had a positive effect on him. I do know he's terribly congested, with a bit of a runny nose, and that may be contributing to his waking up angry--when he snorts, he gets mad, and he seems to snort a lot more in the mornings than the rest of the day. The more he snorts, the more he cries. The more he cries, the more he snorts. You get the idea. I've been putting Baby Vicks on his chest and feet and running the humidifier in his room, but he's still congested. I sure hope it goes away soong.
So anyway, he slept great last night, after the initial false start. That stretch from 12:50 to 6:20 is officially the longest he's slept since he was born. I really hope this is the start of what will (sooner rather than later) become sleeping through the night. I know, we've still got about 2 1/2 hours to go before I'll consider it a success (I really need 8 hours of sleep to function appropriately the next day), but we're getting there. Hallelujia. I have ordered a HaloSack in a cotton fabric rather than the fleece (and the next size up), so hopefully it will help him sleep even better. It should arrive early this week, so I'll let you know.
One of my New Year's resolutions is (as it is pretty much every year) to lose weight. I've got just over 10 lbs to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight. And then about another 60 lbs to go to reach the weight that someone my height and build should actually be, a weight I haven't seen since I got married, I believe. I didn't do much about it today, since we're just sitting around watching football, although I have eaten way less junk today than I have pretty much since before I have birth. We've managed to all the cookies and most of the candy in the house, so I've eaten a lot less of those things than I have been. Hopefully in the next couple of days I can get going on an exercise program. It's a little easier to do when I'm the only one home, so the next couple of days since my husband will be home too I'll have to make an extra effort.
Here's to 2011 being a great year!
Update on the swaddling: we used the HaloSack again last night. He was REALLY pissed going to bed last night...I let him stay up a little later than usual, but still gave him a bath and used that Johnson's Bedtime wash and lotion and then wrapped him up, fed him again, and tried to put him down. He wasn't having it. I don't know what kids Johnson's did their studies on, but the Bedtime stuff doesn't seem to have any impact on Brendan. He was WOUND UP. The worst thing about that (other than the staying awake thing) is that he kind of hyperventilates while he's eating, swallows a bunch of air, and then spits everything back up all over the place. Yippee. Anyway, I put him down just before midnight, and he stayed down for about 40 minutes and then woke up hollering. I went and fed him again, and this time he popped off to sleep and stayed that way. I put him back down at 12:50, and he stayed that way until almost 6:30. Almost scared me to death. I unswaddled him, changed him, fed him, swaddled him back up again, and put him back to bed. He slept until nearly 10 am. I don't know if he was just really tired or if the HaloSack has had a positive effect on him. I do know he's terribly congested, with a bit of a runny nose, and that may be contributing to his waking up angry--when he snorts, he gets mad, and he seems to snort a lot more in the mornings than the rest of the day. The more he snorts, the more he cries. The more he cries, the more he snorts. You get the idea. I've been putting Baby Vicks on his chest and feet and running the humidifier in his room, but he's still congested. I sure hope it goes away soong.
So anyway, he slept great last night, after the initial false start. That stretch from 12:50 to 6:20 is officially the longest he's slept since he was born. I really hope this is the start of what will (sooner rather than later) become sleeping through the night. I know, we've still got about 2 1/2 hours to go before I'll consider it a success (I really need 8 hours of sleep to function appropriately the next day), but we're getting there. Hallelujia. I have ordered a HaloSack in a cotton fabric rather than the fleece (and the next size up), so hopefully it will help him sleep even better. It should arrive early this week, so I'll let you know.
One of my New Year's resolutions is (as it is pretty much every year) to lose weight. I've got just over 10 lbs to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight. And then about another 60 lbs to go to reach the weight that someone my height and build should actually be, a weight I haven't seen since I got married, I believe. I didn't do much about it today, since we're just sitting around watching football, although I have eaten way less junk today than I have pretty much since before I have birth. We've managed to all the cookies and most of the candy in the house, so I've eaten a lot less of those things than I have been. Hopefully in the next couple of days I can get going on an exercise program. It's a little easier to do when I'm the only one home, so the next couple of days since my husband will be home too I'll have to make an extra effort.
Here's to 2011 being a great year!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Do-Over Day 51 - 2/20/10
Today's Weigh-in: 207.6
While this normally wouldn't be cause of celebration, the fact that I weighed in yesterday morning at 211.2 MAKES 207 a cause of celebration. I really was upset when I weighed in yesterday. But upon reflection, we had eaten Chinese food the day before, and the ingestion of massive quantities of sodium surely added quite a bit of water weight to my number. Also, I tried to eat pretty well yesterday: I had a very small bowl of cereal for breakfast, a tomato for lunch, a couple of cheese sticks as a snack, and a small serving of dinner. Good for me. If I can continue to eat less, maybe I can get a little improvement in my numbers. I need to be more regular about my weigh-ins, and record them faithfully. We'll see if I can continue to improve.
In other news...I'm late. By about a week.
I don't know what that means. This could be easily explained by the fact that this is only the second month I've been without birth control, and it could be that, now that the b.c. is completely out of my system, my body is in complete disrhythm. So I don't know what to think so far.
I looked at The American Pregnancy Association website just to see what they said about the early signs of possible pregnancy. I have many of the signs, but again, they could be explained by other circumstances.
For example, one sign of possible pregnancy is soreness/tenderness of the breasts. I've had this problem quite a bit recently. However, it could be from a hormone imbalance, or because I'm due for my period, or because I've gained a massive load of weight and am now a 38DDD. It's like I have udders now. Ick.
Some other signs of possible pregnancy include fatigue and back pain. Well hell, I've had those for YEARS. I'm always tired, and I usually have some kind of lower back pain. Again, the most probably cause is because I'm overweight by about 60 lbs. I suspect I'd be a little bit more energetic if I were in better shape.
The other two symptoms I've noticed are headaches and increased urination. But again, there are alternative causes. Since I haven't taken my blood pressure medication in over two months, my pressure has been up, which definitely causes headaches. To combat this, I've been trying to drink more water, which in turn would cause increased urination.
In other words, I have no idea if I'm pregnant or not. I COULD be. It's possible. What I need to do is wait and see. If my period doesn't start in the next week or so, I will probably go buy a home pregnancy test and give it a whiz. So...we'll see.
While this normally wouldn't be cause of celebration, the fact that I weighed in yesterday morning at 211.2 MAKES 207 a cause of celebration. I really was upset when I weighed in yesterday. But upon reflection, we had eaten Chinese food the day before, and the ingestion of massive quantities of sodium surely added quite a bit of water weight to my number. Also, I tried to eat pretty well yesterday: I had a very small bowl of cereal for breakfast, a tomato for lunch, a couple of cheese sticks as a snack, and a small serving of dinner. Good for me. If I can continue to eat less, maybe I can get a little improvement in my numbers. I need to be more regular about my weigh-ins, and record them faithfully. We'll see if I can continue to improve.
In other news...I'm late. By about a week.
I don't know what that means. This could be easily explained by the fact that this is only the second month I've been without birth control, and it could be that, now that the b.c. is completely out of my system, my body is in complete disrhythm. So I don't know what to think so far.
I looked at The American Pregnancy Association website just to see what they said about the early signs of possible pregnancy. I have many of the signs, but again, they could be explained by other circumstances.
For example, one sign of possible pregnancy is soreness/tenderness of the breasts. I've had this problem quite a bit recently. However, it could be from a hormone imbalance, or because I'm due for my period, or because I've gained a massive load of weight and am now a 38DDD. It's like I have udders now. Ick.
Some other signs of possible pregnancy include fatigue and back pain. Well hell, I've had those for YEARS. I'm always tired, and I usually have some kind of lower back pain. Again, the most probably cause is because I'm overweight by about 60 lbs. I suspect I'd be a little bit more energetic if I were in better shape.
The other two symptoms I've noticed are headaches and increased urination. But again, there are alternative causes. Since I haven't taken my blood pressure medication in over two months, my pressure has been up, which definitely causes headaches. To combat this, I've been trying to drink more water, which in turn would cause increased urination.
In other words, I have no idea if I'm pregnant or not. I COULD be. It's possible. What I need to do is wait and see. If my period doesn't start in the next week or so, I will probably go buy a home pregnancy test and give it a whiz. So...we'll see.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Day 113 - 4/23/09
Weigh-in: 194.2
This ties my lowest weight to date (man, that's sad). It was a little gratifying yesterday to go to the doctor and at least find out that, even clothed, I was four pounds lighter than the last time I'd been there, back in November. But that's pretty mortifying too. Four pounds in five months. That means I'll be my target weight in only...5 years! Ouch.
Anyway, not much to report on the pregnancy scene. We are still in a holding pattern, based on finances and location. However, my hubby has gotten a few nibbles in the job market, and will be scheduling some phone interviews. So far, none of them are in the location we most want to move to (Boise, ID), but they aren't bad, and they've gotta be better than the dirty South.
Did read one thing that surprised me: studies have shown that women who use a hot tub or jacuzzi while pregnant are as much as twice as likely to have a miscarriage than women who do not use a hot tub. That's BIG. While I am not a huge hot tubber, I have been known to sit in them occasionally. Apparently the heat affects fast-growing cells and can damage the development of the fetus. Guess that means avoiding a really hot bath, too. I can't imagine a short shower would cause any harm. But I'm sure a lot of pregnant women have looked to a hot tub for some back relief. Scary. I guess they do usually post warnings, though. But still.
Been sick this week--bronchitis--so I haven't worked out much. Hopefully next week will be better.
This ties my lowest weight to date (man, that's sad). It was a little gratifying yesterday to go to the doctor and at least find out that, even clothed, I was four pounds lighter than the last time I'd been there, back in November. But that's pretty mortifying too. Four pounds in five months. That means I'll be my target weight in only...5 years! Ouch.
Anyway, not much to report on the pregnancy scene. We are still in a holding pattern, based on finances and location. However, my hubby has gotten a few nibbles in the job market, and will be scheduling some phone interviews. So far, none of them are in the location we most want to move to (Boise, ID), but they aren't bad, and they've gotta be better than the dirty South.
Did read one thing that surprised me: studies have shown that women who use a hot tub or jacuzzi while pregnant are as much as twice as likely to have a miscarriage than women who do not use a hot tub. That's BIG. While I am not a huge hot tubber, I have been known to sit in them occasionally. Apparently the heat affects fast-growing cells and can damage the development of the fetus. Guess that means avoiding a really hot bath, too. I can't imagine a short shower would cause any harm. But I'm sure a lot of pregnant women have looked to a hot tub for some back relief. Scary. I guess they do usually post warnings, though. But still.
Been sick this week--bronchitis--so I haven't worked out much. Hopefully next week will be better.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Day 108 - 4/18/09
Weigh-in: 194.4
Sweet. Of course, I just went and ate two big pieces of deep dish pizza to celebrate. Naturally.
Just a brief note for entertainment. I found a site of a guy whose parenting philosophy stems from his life philosophy: Don't do anything that will embarrass you on the nightly news. He asked for some examples of embarrassing stories people had heard on the news. Not all of them are parenting related, but they're all pretty funny.
Just Don't Wanna End Up on the News
Sweet. Of course, I just went and ate two big pieces of deep dish pizza to celebrate. Naturally.
Just a brief note for entertainment. I found a site of a guy whose parenting philosophy stems from his life philosophy: Don't do anything that will embarrass you on the nightly news. He asked for some examples of embarrassing stories people had heard on the news. Not all of them are parenting related, but they're all pretty funny.
Just Don't Wanna End Up on the News
Friday, April 17, 2009
Day 107 - 4/17/09
Weigh-in: 195.8
That was a pretty nice surprise this morning, especially since I had two ice cream sandwiches yesterday and burritos for dinner last night (which are almost always the kiss of death for my morning weigh-in). I'm actually down three pounds from yesterday's weigh-in. Of course, there are many possible reasons: I took some Excedrin last night, which may have dehydrated me a bit and lowered the water weight; I'm coming to the end of my TOTM so the bloating may be going back down; perhaps the exercising I've been doing has actually been helping. Who knows?
I have been pretty good about working out this week. Nothing Monday (why ruin a perfectly good day off?), but I've hit the gym twice before work this week to lift weights, and I've been doing 30-minute walking and kickboxing cardio workouts with some coworkers during one of our planning periods at school (four times a week) for two weeks now. I've enjoyed it so much that I actually ordered some of the kickboxing videos (it's called "Turbo Jam", and it's a set of five videos for only three payments of blah blah blah) so that I can keep doing this at home during the summer. I can definitely feel the kickboxing workouts the next day.
Anyway, on to other topics.
Found an article today on ParentingHelpMe.com that is really interesting from a parent/teacher perspective. It's about children and social media (like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, etc.). While I don't have kids of my own yet, I do teach high school and am very aware of my students' relationship to their social networks.
The article is very brief--apparently it is a follow-up to another article, which I will have to look for--but cites some interesting statistics about kids on the computer. According to the article, about 3/4 of kids ages 12-17 are regular online participators, and and almost 2/3 of those kids have acknowledged that there is some information on their social networking site that could be embarrassing or harmful to them, if not now then when they grow up. The upshot of the article is that parents need to take an active role in their children's use of any and all social networking sites, to be aware of what information their child is posting or receiving and to actually limit or control harmful activity. The example the article used at the end was how unfortunate it would be for a picture of your son with a bong to show up on the Internet and harm his reputation or career, as in the case of Michael Phelps. This is a lesson I've been trying to impart to my students, but I don't know how successful I've been, because I refuse to be "friends" with any of them on Facebook.
That was a pretty nice surprise this morning, especially since I had two ice cream sandwiches yesterday and burritos for dinner last night (which are almost always the kiss of death for my morning weigh-in). I'm actually down three pounds from yesterday's weigh-in. Of course, there are many possible reasons: I took some Excedrin last night, which may have dehydrated me a bit and lowered the water weight; I'm coming to the end of my TOTM so the bloating may be going back down; perhaps the exercising I've been doing has actually been helping. Who knows?
I have been pretty good about working out this week. Nothing Monday (why ruin a perfectly good day off?), but I've hit the gym twice before work this week to lift weights, and I've been doing 30-minute walking and kickboxing cardio workouts with some coworkers during one of our planning periods at school (four times a week) for two weeks now. I've enjoyed it so much that I actually ordered some of the kickboxing videos (it's called "Turbo Jam", and it's a set of five videos for only three payments of blah blah blah) so that I can keep doing this at home during the summer. I can definitely feel the kickboxing workouts the next day.
Anyway, on to other topics.
Found an article today on ParentingHelpMe.com that is really interesting from a parent/teacher perspective. It's about children and social media (like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, etc.). While I don't have kids of my own yet, I do teach high school and am very aware of my students' relationship to their social networks.
The article is very brief--apparently it is a follow-up to another article, which I will have to look for--but cites some interesting statistics about kids on the computer. According to the article, about 3/4 of kids ages 12-17 are regular online participators, and and almost 2/3 of those kids have acknowledged that there is some information on their social networking site that could be embarrassing or harmful to them, if not now then when they grow up. The upshot of the article is that parents need to take an active role in their children's use of any and all social networking sites, to be aware of what information their child is posting or receiving and to actually limit or control harmful activity. The example the article used at the end was how unfortunate it would be for a picture of your son with a bong to show up on the Internet and harm his reputation or career, as in the case of Michael Phelps. This is a lesson I've been trying to impart to my students, but I don't know how successful I've been, because I refuse to be "friends" with any of them on Facebook.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Day 83 - 3/24/09
Weigh-in: 194.8
Well, whatever I'm doing (I guess that would eating less and exercising, ha ha) seems to be working, sort of. I'm not going to win any speed contests for weight loss. I guess I should focus more on the fact that I've lost five pounds and not quite as much on the fact that I've lost five pounds IN THREE MONTHS. I'm such a slug. But hey--I've been to the gym two mornings in a row, which tops the number of times I've been since...well, I don't think I'd been to the gym since Spring Break started, so that's not bad.
Anyway, got to thinking about food cravings, since I already have them and I'm not even pregnant. What causes cravings? Why do people crave certain things, especially things they would never normally touch?
Certain cravings make sense. I myself crave bologna when my electrolytes get off-balance--it must be the salt, because it sure as heck isn't the flavor. I have not eaten bologna for enjoyment purposes since I was a kid and it was on my sandwich every day. Warm bologna, no. I also find myself craving steak upon occasion (well, a lot of occasions). I suspect one of two things: either a need for protein to repair muscle, or a low iron count in my blood (or the instincts of a raging carnivore--no vegetarian I). And it is true that around my TOTM I crave chocolate in greater levels than normal.
But why do women crave such silly, cliched things as pickles and ice cream? The ice cream I can handle, but pickles? Eww. I pick them off my hamburger. Why would I suddenly crave them if I don't like them? And why do some women crave outrageous things like dirt or paint chips? I'm really curious about the whole dirt thing, because I ate dirt as a child. Just sat down beside the driveway and crunched away. My mom got worried and took me to the doctor to have a bunch of blood tests, because she was just certain I had some terrible deficiency that was manifesting itself by making me crave dirt. The doctor ran all his tests and came back to my mother: "We've determined why your daughter eats dirt." My mother: "Why?" The doctor: "She likes it." I am not making this up. But I am wondering, could there have been SOMETHING missing from my diet to make dirt seem appealing?
A coworker of mine revealed to us all last week that she is pregnant, about 12 weeks along or so. I will be very curious to ask her if she has any cravings as she progresses. And perhaps someday I'll test myself to see what weirdness I might want. I like weird stuff anyway--Velveeta cheese with peanut butter on it was a childhood favorite.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Day 51 - 2/20/09
Weigh-in: 195.0
Wow. Didn't expect that. And then I went and f***ed it up by going to a Chinese buffet for dinner tonight. I'm expecting 198 tomorrow morning--that'll teach me.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Day 50 - 2/19/09
Weigh-in: 196.8
Not sure what did it. I did eat a little earlier than usual yesterday and then went to kayaking roll class at a local pool, so perhaps it was that combination. Or maybe I just got really super dehydrated. Anyway, I'll take it.
Have you ever considered all the stuff you have to buy when you have a child? I'm not even talking about things like diapers, clothes, food...I'm just talking furniture. Think about all the items you should have in the baby's room.
Crib--you know, for hundreds of years parents have tossed their babies into cribs with nary a second thought. But now they have all these regulations about the cribs. No pillows, no big stuffed toys, no bulky blankets. Make sure old cribs don't have lead paint. Don't use cribs with cut-out openings or space between slats big enough for the baby's head to get stuck. No decorative attachments or finials that can catch on the baby's clothes. How did any of us ever survive? At this point, a cardboard box sounds safer. Oh no, wait...fire hazard.
Changing Table--washable. Padded. Tall rim around the outside so baby can't roll off. Security straps to put on baby, just in case. And never, ever leave baby unattended. Well, duh! Seems to me the security straps are just as dangerous as the drop to the floor might be. You need somewhere to store the diapers, creams, wipes, and powders that you can access but baby can't. And it might help if the design can be converted into a dresser or desk for when baby grows older. I didn't know Transformers made furniture. What exactly does this magical table look like? And does a kid really want a desk that he or she has pooped on?
Rocking Chair--if you don't have one of these in the child's room, you are a fool. Why lug the kid all through the house when you can rock him or her back to sleep and pop the little nugget back in the crib? Again, no lead paint of course. Long, fairly flat rockers so the child can't climb up on the chair and flip it as he/she gets older. Comfortable enough that you are not going to get pressure sores on your butt from all the sitting and rocking you are going to have to do.
And that's not even getting into the non-permanent furniture items, such as the high chair, bassinet, play pen, baby bouncy seat, car seat, stroller...
How much money is this going to cost?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Day 47 - 2/16/09
Weigh-in: 197.4
Well, this whole thing has been a total failure so far. I have been unable to motivate myself to work out. With only three weeks left before my Spring Break and the two trips I'll be taking then, it is unlikely that I will be able to lose significant weight by then. But I can't give up. If I don't do this, I'll never get to the point, health-wise, that I can have kids. So I have to figure out a way to do this.
I took some measurements today in the hope that I can give myself more motivation and more ways to gauge my progress.
Upper arm--15 inches
Bust--46 inches
Chest--38 inches
Waist--39 inches
Belly--43 inches
Hips--48 inches
Upper thigh--27 inches
Calf--17 inches
I at least made a surprising amount of progress this past weekend, somehow. I didn't think I ate particularly well--lots of pasta and bread--and I didn't get a whole lot of exercise other than walking a few blocks too and from my car. But somehow I ended up two pounds lighter than when I left. Not sure how that happened. If I can duplicate that every four days, like this past weekend, I can still lose 12 lbs by the time I go kayaking.
Let's see if I can get off my fat ass.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Day 40 - 2/9/09
Weigh-in: 198.8
Well, I got a little help from a rather unexpected (and unwanted) source yesterday. Went kayaking with my husband and some friends. Well, I say kayaking, but must less time was spent actually in the boat with paddle in head than I spent either swimming in the river (in February in Missouri, with ice floating downstream) or climbing the bluff alongside the river and hiking through the forest to get to where my boat had stopped to wait for me. Meh.
Anyway, it's over a 1 lb drop from the day before, so I'll take it. But I sure am tired and sore today.
I'm supposed to be starting my "12 weeks to weight loss" plan from About.com today, but I'm struggling with that age-old problem of motivation. Will I give in to temptation and just go home to my husband, dog, and television? Or will I battle on and fight the Monday night crowds at the gym? Stay tuned.
Oh, on another note, I found a BMR calculator online. BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. It's supposed to show on the average how many calories your body uses daily, just to remain the same. My BMR, for a 34-year-old overweight female, was 1680. That means if I were to not exercise at all beyond my day to day activities at work and home, I would stay completely the same weight if I ate 1680 calories each day--no loss, no gain. Now, a more active person will have a much higher BMR, since they're burning more calories each day. The higher your BMR, the better shape you are in. I'm sure Michael Phelps has a BMR of something ridiculous, like 6000 (and that doesn't count the munchies). Anyway, for the most part I am not staying under that 1680 calories, which is where the exercise comes in. Again, we'll see what I can do today. I'm sore and beat up from my swims and hikes of yesterday, so I can't promise anything fantastic.
Oh, on another note, I found a BMR calculator online. BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. It's supposed to show on the average how many calories your body uses daily, just to remain the same. My BMR, for a 34-year-old overweight female, was 1680. That means if I were to not exercise at all beyond my day to day activities at work and home, I would stay completely the same weight if I ate 1680 calories each day--no loss, no gain. Now, a more active person will have a much higher BMR, since they're burning more calories each day. The higher your BMR, the better shape you are in. I'm sure Michael Phelps has a BMR of something ridiculous, like 6000 (and that doesn't count the munchies). Anyway, for the most part I am not staying under that 1680 calories, which is where the exercise comes in. Again, we'll see what I can do today. I'm sore and beat up from my swims and hikes of yesterday, so I can't promise anything fantastic.
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