Merry Christmas and Happy 2010!

It’s been a few weeks since my last post. For a while, I’ve been feeling like there aren’t very many people who read the blog so I thought, why bother? I started this before entering the Moms Get Fit contest because I needed people to encourage me and hold me accountable, so that I could stay motivated, and also because I wanted my efforts at developing a healthier lifestyle to be an encouragement to others as well.


I don’t usually get a lot of comments and figured that maybe no one is really interested. Maybe I’m right, maybe it’s really just Heather and Mom that are interested.

But maybe, just maybe, there are other people reading this that I don’t know about who ARE being encouraged. That’s a happy thought for me. So I decided to write another post with progress updates! Are you on the edge of your seat yet? Yeah, me too.

Let’s recap the holidays: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were hard. But you know what? I did it! On Christmas Eve, I stuck to the plan most of the day and only after I’d eaten my normal dinner did I allow myself to have a few bites of my favorite foods – including a teeny, tiny piece of birthday cake! Yum! Does your family have birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve? You should!

On Christmas morning I was still in ketosis, which is a good thing when you’re in the Medi Weight-Loss Clinics program. I also woke up at 5:30AM and did the Hard Core Fusion workout from The Firm. I stuck to most of my normal meals that day as well, except for adding in our traditional apple pancake for breakfast. I had my normal lunch and dinner, adding ONE ravioli at dinner. I also had two glasses of wine (the warm spiced holiday wine was TOTALLY worth it!) and a mimosa. And then I had a chocolate chip cookie at night. That wasn’t worth it. I could have done without that.

The day after Christmas, I was out of ketosis. And a little nervous about that. But I did get up at 5:30AM to work out that day (Saturday) and Sunday as well, to try and balance out the extra calories. By Sunday I was back in ketosis! Go me!

Monday was my last session with James (Taylor Fitness Club), because they expire at the end of the year and my Medi follow-up appointment was Wednesday so I couldn’t do another session that night. I had a great workout and James was very encouraging and helpful in suggesting ways to make sure that I continue with weight training. I really feel like he has done a lot to encourage me and equip me with the tools and knowledge I need to maintain my healthy exercise habits. I owe a large majority of my success and positive changes to his training. When I get to the point that I can spare the cost of training with him regularly, I’m going back! I would recommend him to EVERYONE - if you're able to afford a trainer, he's the one you want to train with.

Until then, I’m going to develop my own routine, mirroring his as closely as possible, at the Fitness Center where I work, since I’m able to use it free of charge.

Now for the updates and stats. As of last night’s Medi follow-up, in the past 9 weeks I’ve lost a total of:

25.3 pounds


5.5 inches in my waist


12.3% body fat (I’m not sure about this – because it’s “that time of the month” and Lauren said sometimes the scale reads less body fat when there is extra water weight, so I may not have lost quite as much body fat yet. We’ll see truer figures next Friday)


27 fat mass pounds


5.1 decrease in BMI

I’ve been wearing most of my pre-pregnancy shirts and I’ve worn two pairs of pre-pregnancy pants this week! There are still a few shirts that I can’t wear yet and quite a few more pants/capris that I can’t fit into, but that’s coming! I’m so much closer!

My wedding rings are almost there. For the past few weeks, I’ve only been able to get them on when my hands are cold. Lately I’ve been able to get them on even when my hands are warm. They’re still not comfortable enough for me to wear them but I’m thisclose.

There’s still the matter of my knee-high boots. I can’t zip them up around my calves yet. I miss those boots. Those aren’t even close yet so I’m not sure that’ll ever happen again. I’m hopeful because I think I may get down to a smaller size than I was before I got pregnant, since I have healthier habits now than I did then.

We’ll just have to wait and see!

My friend April did a maternity photo shoot for my brother and sister-in-law, and she took an updated picture of me while we had the opportunity. I’ll include that in an upcoming post, probably next Friday after my 10 week weigh-in if I have the picture from her by then.

Speaking of next Friday – that starts a new work schedule for Pat! He finally got up the nerve to request a four-day work week and his boss agreed! He’ll work Monday – Thursday like me, and we’ll have three-day weekends together now. That’s going to give us so much more family time and allow us to get our errands done while still having time to rest and play together. Yay!

Pat did take a short hiatus from his weight-loss regime over the past few weeks, but he’s back on. His sister Kathy and her husband Geoff gave him a subscription to Men’s Health for Christmas. The first issue he received had a full workout in it that he’s doing three times a week as recommended, and on the other days he’s adding in his own stuff so that he doesn’t skip a day of exercise. Once the weather warms up, he’ll be back to walking in the mornings too. He only gained a few pounds over this holiday which is AWESOME – most people can gain 10 or more! He’s doing really well and I’m very proud of him.

My daughter is doing a lot better in regards to her constipation issues. She’s still taking the Miralax as the doctor’s office prescribed and we’ll just keep following up with them until everything is back to normal and we can wean her off of the medicine.

She had a GREAT Christmas. We tried to get her to come out of her bedroom on her own on Christmas morning, but I think she thought that Santa was still there and she was afraid to come out. So I went in and told her that Santa was gone, but he left presents!

We had people in our house from 10AM until 10PM that day. It was fun, but exhausting! I don’t think I’ve even recovered yet.

Tomorrow, on New Year’s Day, we’re having an “adult day” and going to Universal with our friends Angi and Eric whom we only get to see once a year or so. We’re both leaving our babies with their grandmothers. I’m so excited to spend the day with them!

That’s my update for the past month or so. I’m truckin’ right along and will (hopefully) post again next Friday with more weight loss stats.

I hope you all have a SAFE and fun New Year celebration tonight and tomorrow!