Chugging along!

     Welcome to my first and last post for January 2011.  Things are going pretty well, considering how much we have going on.  The only things is that we went on vacation on Jan 13th and I have not been back to the Y since.   Yeesh, I know!  Over 2 fulls weeks of sleeping in (as much as a 2 year old will allow) and I'm finding it so hard to get back into my groove.  I'm going tomorrow and I'm going to weigh myself.
     Also I'm doing SlimFast again, and I figured if all I did this last summer was SlimFast and I lost 10 lbs, then what could I lose if I actually coupled it with good diet and exercise?  I know what you're thinking, "Thats crazy person talk!  You can't diet and exercise!!!"  Oh yes I can, and I am going to.
     Waaaay back in December (or November), I got back on the coffee.  I can't kick it for the life of me!  I'm even going so far as to making decaf in the afternoon.  I think its because I feel so cold all the time (fat kept me warm!) So now I constantly find myself drinking coffee, hot chocolate, hot chai, tea, whatever! I can get my hands on to warm my bones.  That's also now a running joke in our family.  I told my husband and my mom that I'm cold all the time now because I'm so super skinny.  Just being obnoxious, but now that's kind of a thing we'll say if one of us is cold.  Lame and true, but a fun inside joke.  I had a client once who had gastric bypass and lost something over 100 lbs and she was telling me how she used to sweat constantly and now she could never get warm and her feet hurt.  I thought that was really interesting, because now I can relate to the being cold thing, but I never thought about the feet.  We have fat pads on the soles of our feet, isn't it funny to think that if you lose enough weight, your feet will get skinnier?  But in losing that padding, she began to have foot pain.  Just an interesting tidbit!
     I'm weighing in tomorrow and I'm expecting a huge gain, but we shall see!

On my way to another great year!

Even though I didn't come close to achieving my goal in the timeline I initially set out in my first blog entry, I'm still very happy with my accomplishments this year.  We've pushed some (baby) plans back so that I've got more time to get to my ideal weight, but it's all for the best.  2010 was so good to me!  We celebrated 3 years of wedded bliss, our son's 2nd birthday, vacations, family bonding, and lots of love!  These last 15 pounds are tricky, but I've got a new plan of attack for 2011.  Wish me luck!  

Enjoy a few before and after pics from last Christmas to this one! 

How I'm handling the Holidays...

I love love love this time of year.  Not for the crappy weather, not for the gifts, not even for the liquor laced eggnog....no, I love it for the food.

     Nothing says "Happy Birthday Jesus!" like gorging yourself with the people you love.  This Christmas marks one full year since I knew it was time to take off my baby weight.  You can see the picture that got me motivated from last Christmas here.    So here we are again Christmas, I've been waiting for you so you can see the new me.  I am not to my initial goal weight, but I am down to pre-baby weight.  I'm actually down to my high school weight, but I gained 20 lbs senior year so I don't really think it counts.  I know that Christmas is waaaay more important than some weight loss, but the way I see it, I've just added who knows how much more time to my life to praise Jesus.
     My baby brother-in-law graduated from college this past week.  We drove up for it (despite a blizzard!) and ate wonderful food, stayed in a hotel, swam, talked, and had a blast.  It was such a great reason for us to all get together and I know my husband could not have been more proud of his little brother.  My mom sent along a pack of Joe-Joe's.  These are Trader Joe's version of an Oreo, filled with bits of candy cane.  I'm pretty sure I ate 3/4 of the box.  So that was obviously a mistake.
     Right before we left for the graduation, my mama, son and I had gone to visit relatives in Kentucky for about  a week.  I really was mildly impressed with myself.  We ate in a lot and cooked for my beloved 92 year old relatives.  I can't even pick out something that was totally outrageous that I may have eaten or gorged on.  The only thing that comes to mind is that on the 13-16 hours we were on the road (one way) I would buy RockStar Energy Drinks at some of our stops...

Now take everything on that label and times it by two, since there are two servings in every can.  I'm not a big label person, but even I know this is just too much of everything to be in something I'm drinking.  I also may or may not have had 2 or 3 Dunkin Doughnuts and some sugar with coffee and cream at a gas station at 5:30am on our drive home.

Despite all this, I weighed myself when I was at the Y yesterday morning and I'm only up something like a pound and a half.  I did crunches every night when we were in Kentucky and it felt so good to get back into the gym yesterday.  I got into such a groove running, I went past my usual one mile before I looked down to realize I was almost to a mile and a half.

Things are going well and maybe by Christmas 2011 I'll be to my goal weight...hopefully sooner though!!!

Good news, bad news situation...

I'll go with bad news first, because I like to end on a good note.


     I have high cholesterol.  Not insanely high, but high all the same.  I went in for a physical a couple of weeks ago so that I can make sure all my levels are good, or if any need improvement.  Initially he said, everything looked great!  Then my lab results were mailed to me.  Everything was fine except for one, my cholesterol.  Normal is under 200 and I am at 206.  I'd rather be much much further from 200.  HDL (High-density lipoprotein) was high at 62, but it is referred to as your good cholesterol because it is responsible for transporting your cholesterol back to the liver to be processed.  Then, in true doctor fashion, a barely legible "acceptable" is scribbled across the front of the report and signed by my doctor.  This may be acceptable to him, but I want to be in tip top shape before we have another baby to help prevent any complications on my end.  I was so frustrated, because I felt like I'd been doing everything possible for me to be healthy and this kind of blind sided me.  So now for the good news...
     We joined our local YMCA.  When I first started losing weight I was very anti-gym.  Mostly because I did not want anyone to see me run, jog, walk, or crawl on a public treadmill.  I feel like losing this first 35 pounds has given me more self confidence about working out in public.  Plus, I have been doing my workout videos for like 10 months now and I am getting super bored with them.  I got up this morning, with a little elbowing from hubby, at 6:30 am.  Did you know that in the beginning of November the sun is not even making a effort to come up by 6:30?...I really don't care for winter.  I did a mile run on the elliptical.  I've been having some knee/hip/ankle/back pain, so elliptical was the most comfortable.  It felt really good to run and get my blood pumping, and hopefully it will help with my cholesterol too.  Then I jumped on an ab machine (do not know what its called, but its the one where you support yourself on your elbows and pull your legs up to your chest).  I hate hate hate sit ups or crunches.  I can never do them just right and I always end up straining my neck, so I'm going with the machines from now on.  Then I worked my back a little, hoping to slim down my adorable lipoma.  Plus I loved when I used to have those back dimples, oh, some day I'll see them again.  
     I feel awesome.  Hubby and I are going to take turns every other day with getting up early and working out, but taking Sundays off.  This will mean 3 days of workout a week for each of us, without losing out on family time.  He made a good point the other day.  If I can lose 35 pounds with relatively mild diet and exercise, imagine what my body would do with more intensive exercise.  Food for thought!

Typing quick! Nap time is almost over!

Hitting up a few topics today...
#1 Our son turned 2!
This seems so ridiculous to me.  I sometimes can't believe he is even here, let alone that he is 2.  We had a fishy party!  It was adorable.  A few of his little friends came fishing and we opened presents and he blew out the candles on his fish cake and we ate fish shaped cookies.  I had so much fun getting everyone together and getting ready for his party, I came down off a huge emotional and sugar high when all was said and done.  I ate more sugar cookies and a weeks time span than I have all year.  Not to toot my own horn, but the cake and cookies were delicious!  My hips are not thanking me.

#2 Pumpkin Patch
This is my favorite time of year despite how bad all of our allergies are.  We went to the pumpkin patch and watched our guy run (no wobbly walk this year) though the attractions.  It was such a fun time.  Also I didn't notice till I started looking though last years pictures that I wore almost the exact same thing this year as the year before.  This is weird and makes for good comparison pics!

2009                                               2010

#3 We have baby fever!
I don't know if its because I have a 2 yr old now or what, but we have babies on the brain.  Our timeline for the next year and a half is crazy, but a baby is in there somewhere too, jut not sure when though!  I had so many issues with our first I want to make sure I am in tip top shape before we get pregnant again.  I want to reach my goal weight (thanks to the cake and cookies I am still looking at another 15 lbs.)  I went and got a physical just to make sure blood pressure, cholesterol, and whatever else they can check is all normal.  My doctor, whom I love, was great.  Said I should definitely get down to goal before getting pregnant and that will really help with any complications that I could prevent on my end.  I got a big pat on the back for losing weight in a timely and healthy manner.  Glad I am going about things right and its actually working for me!

Another 5 Pound Marker!

Yeah baby!  That's right 175!  

     And I was fully clothed when I stepped on the scale!  I heard a stand up comedian tell a joke one time about how he could never get a woman naked.  He finally figured out that all he needed to do was put a scale in his living room and every woman who stepped on it would strip down naked first.  Cracked me up, because everybody does it.  Or at least I do, or was that an over share? 

     Any who...I am now officially down 35 pounds!  AHHH!  I get butterflies in my stomach when I think about that accomplishment.  I was chatting with my dear sweet Papa Bear this evening, and I was telling him about how I am so over lying about my weight and people who lie about their weight.  But then I also revealed that it is much easier to share your numbers once you are already down by a lot as opposed to when you haven't lost anything yet.  When I was 210 lbs, I didn't go shouting it from the rooftops.  At least not until I was ready to do something about it.

***Small confession...I did put 160 lbs on my license when I recently got it renewed.  BUT! By the time I have to renew it again, I will definitely be below that number, so that's not really hurting anyone, now is it?

     Super random thought...have you ever watched Biggest Loser and when they show the weights of the contestants and they weigh more than you, but you're like, "No! They can't weight that much because I don't look that fat!"  What is up with that?!  Is it TV?  Is it our distorted self image?  But then you see that one picture of you from that awful angle that caught you totally off guard and you see it.  You see your Biggest Loser before picture.  That's what happened to me.  I saw a terrible picture (see below) of me at Christmas last year and I was horrified, but motivated!

This is a horrible "before" picture...

Ummm, I still look pregnant...after more than a year!

This is a dorky self photo of yours truly.  I was waiting in the car while dear hubby went in to pick up the most delicious pizza in the Midwest.  It is beef and cream cheese.  It is to die for and every time we go to Lincoln we treat ourselves to a big fat slice, or four.  I feel like in you can tell that I am getting my old face shape back.  More oval, less acorn.  Is acorn a face shape?  Well it was for me about 35 pounds ago!

This was last weekend and it was our first family camping trip.  Ignore my creepy red eye.  We gorged on s'mores and bacon.  It was awesome and I felt like a dough ball afterwards.  Its hard to eat healthy while you're camping, so I'm cutting myself some slack.  The 175 number came almost a full week after this adventure, so I still earned it!

Busy Busy Busy!

So many things are happening for us!!!  Our tree service came today and took down out two monstrous dying trees.  While they did that, my mom watched the babe, and I painted.  Big surprise!  I invented another project that I had to do.

Out little man is almost 2 and the changing table is a little small for such a big boy!  I really wanted a long, low dresser.  Something that until he is potty trained, we can keep the changing pad on top of the dresser and still have a spot to change him in his room.

On Saturday we went to an auction and I found the most perfect dresser for our son's room.  So I got the dresser for $20 and we are hanging back looking at what other people are bidding on and the matching nightstand comes up for bidding.  No one is interested so I got it for $2.50!  Such a deal and cute too.

Last night I sanded them all down and wiped them clean and today I painted them....wait for it...red.  Yes, red.  I was scared.  Who gets scared of paint?  I do apparently.  My dad is a woodworker at heart and I always grew up hearing that you never paint over a nice wood grain.  Well this had nice grain, but was about 30 years behind in it's stain and color.  But it had awesome lines.  I never understood what "good lines" meant, whether is was a car or boat or piece of furniture.  Saturday "good lines" finally made sense.  The dresser has such sweet little curves and painted red it looks ahhh-mazing.  I am in love!

Tomorrow we are going to get some fabric and other odds and ends for Hobby Lobby to add to his room.  Then, hopefully in the next 2 weeks, we can get some color on the walls and really finish it off.  I know I am doing things a bit backwards but I had to pick what would be the easiest to do while he was sleeping.  The walls are going to be tricky because usually I paint when he is napping or after he has gone to bed for the night, but now I've got to work with him or send him to Nana's for the day!

(I'm going to get some pictures up as soon as I can snap a few while the babe isn't sleeping!)

I am tired, my hands hurt.  My finger really hurts!  I sliced it open cutting watermelon the other night.  But I accomplished something today that in my opinion looks great!

Do you feel it?  Its coming...that huge, ugly, irritating "but"

But...

I have been an eating machine!  I literally had 2 dinners tonight.  We ate at 6 and then at 8:30 my stomach was growling again!  So I had a bowl full of grapes, then (movie butter) popcorn, and now a huge glass of chocolate milk.  Now I know this may not sound like a 2nd dinner, but the calories are all there my friends.  Plus, I begged Ryan to bring me home a Dr Pepper.  NOOOOOOoooooo!  I've been doing so great.  The other day I was stuck at the house with no car seat and called to ask my dad if he would bring me a pop.

What?  Who is this person?!  I do not drink pop anymore except on special occasions or at the movies.  So who is this crazy delusional woman calling people like a drug addict asking them to "drop off the goods"?

Hi, I'm Annie and I'm a popaholic.  This is why alcoholics don't just have one once they are sober.  This is why people are "clean" for X amount of days, weeks, months, years.  You can't go back, not for second, otherwise you think, "Well I only had the one, so that's OK and I'll just make sure I go for a walk or something."  But let me tell you my dearies, 1 turns into 2 and 2 turns into 3 and 3 turns in...ok well we can all count, you get the picture.

Plus I had some decaf coffee with my cream and sugar this morning, along with Swedish Pancakes.  Why did I have coffee?  No caffeine so there's no benefit there, just empty calories.  Shame on you Annie, not cool!  OK hopefully 3rd time is a charm, and this is the last time I'll have to renew my New Years resolution (until next New Years).

I do solemnly swear to not pollute my body with sugar, excess fat, carbonated chemicals, or anything deep fried in golden goodness.

Let's hope this sticks, but not to my arteries ;)