Oops

My kids are officially 9 months old (as of last Thursday) and I did not reach my goal. Not even close. Trying to find time to work out is a big challenge for this working mom of twins/wife of grad student. But laziness is actually my biggest hurdle. We live upstairs, so if I want to take my kids for a walk/jog I have to go up and down the stairs like 6 times.

1. Trap Asher somewhere in the house and take Judah downstairs.
2. Trap Judah somewhere downstairs (like strapped into the stroller)
3. Go upstairs to get Asher
4. Take Asher downstairs and strap into the stroller.
5. Somehow navigate around to the front of the house, then descend the 3 stairs to street level (all with a double stroller full of kids)
6. Walk/run/jog/shuffle pushing a double stroller
7. Stop to talk to 1000 strangers about my cute kids (can't really blame them)
8. Return home & somehow ascend the 3 front steps with a double stroller to get up to house level from the street and navigate around the house to our door
   
9. Leave Judah trapped in the stroller while taking Asher upstairs
10. Trap Asher somewhere upstairs
11. Go downstairs to get Judah
12. Take Judah upstairs
    

After all this I am a sweaty exhausted mess. If Nick isn't home to watch the kids I have to either trap and distract them so I can shower, or just remain in that disgusting sweaty state until nap or bed time. SO GROSS.

I am exhausted just thinking about this. Does that count as a workout?

9 on, 9 off

I don't remember where I heard the expression, but I quickly embraced the idea of "9 on, 9 off" in reference to pregnancy weight. I had my beautiful twin boys almost 7 months ago, so if I am true to my word, I have just 2 months to go until I should be back at a comfortable pre-pregnancy weight - and more importantly, pre-pregnancy size.

I gained a total of 37 pounds during my twin pregnancy, which was not that much all things considered. I delivered almost 11 lbs of baby back in January, and lost ALL of the 37 pounds plus some within 1 week. At my 6 week check-up I was actually about 10 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight. Then I stopped pumping breastmilk. And my appetite which had been pretty low during pregnancy made a grand/unwelcome reappearance. Now I'm back at my pre-pregnancy weight. But don't get me wrong, I am not at my pre-pregnancy size. I have a lot of extra belly, and appear to be about 5 months pregnant, which I can assure you, I am not. I want to see if I can dip below the 200 lb mark by the time my little boys are 9 months old, which is extremely doable.

Since I had twice the amount of kids do I get twice the amount of time to work off the baby body? I think yes. If I work hard and continue to TRY I can make huge strides by the time my kids are 18 months old. For the record I am about 75 lbs above my goal weight, however that might not be realistic for me post-baby and post-20's. My goal for now is to shed 50+ lbs in 11 months. Then I'll reevaluate a realistic and healthy final goal weight/size. Here we go!

On Hold

Not that I was super diligent about updating this blog or anything, but in case you're secretly lurking on here and wondering what the deal is, I have put this project on hold. See you in 2011!

Uptown Girl

Hello. Are you still there? I'm still here. I haven't abandoned this journey again. Nope. Just not doing a great job of keeping track of my food or taking fun photos to post. Sorry, kids. I know you're all super disappointed.

I did get in a great run at the gym last night. I jog/walked 3.35 miles while watching the finale of The Bachelor (note I do not watch this show, so catching the finale was pretty funny.) It was the first time I've been to the gym in a while. I forgot how passionately I love my gym. It is beautiful, and full of fun extras that make me feel like the pampered fitness queen that I aspire to be. There's the great fitnessy things like the rock climbing wall, plenty of cardio equipment, a pool, a sizable weight room, a full basketball court, group fitness classes, and other great stuff. While that stuff is all awesome, it's the extras that I love. Things like mouthwash, lotion, hair dryers, fancy shower heads, and plush chairs in the locker room. I am not exaggerating when I say that the locker room of my gym is considerably nicer than my house. It's only by a happy mistake that I am able to be a member of this exclusive club. About a year ago I wanted to upgrade my gym membership to the medium level so I could go to the gym near my new house. I found out a while later that they accidentally upgraded me to the highest level. Oops! When I brought this to their attention they decided to let me stay at that level at no additional charge as it was their mistake. Sweet! Because of my employer's program with the gym combined with this mistake I only pay $16/month for a membership that would likely cost upwards of $100/month to the general public. I now get to see how the other half live while working out. I just grab a towel (towel service) and a cup of filtered water before hopping on the treadmill to watch some prime time sitcoms on my personal tv (the big screen is usually set to the game, so I can watch both) and hum a little "Uptown Girl" to myself while feeling like a social climber in the best way possible. And don't worry about parking - they validate.

Last night at 10pm there were only about 4 other people around in the cardio area. The name 24 Hour Fitness is kind of a misnomer when it comes to my specific gym of choice (hours 5am - 11pm) but I loved the feeling of closing the gym. I felt really dedicated and awesome. And it's hard not to feel amazing after the complementary pedicure and rejuvenating facial.

Hey, it could have been worse.

Good morning!
Diet Coke - 0 calories

Breakfast at my desk
1/2 cup Fiber One, 1/2 cup nonfat milk, 1 clementine - 135 calories

Mid-morning snack
String cheese, fruit bar, Trader Joe's edamame crackers (see below) - 170 calories

These crackers are really crispy and good. They have 120 calories for 38 crackers.
I usually just eat half a serving at a time. Mmmm delicious!

Lunch at home
TJ's roasted vegetable couscous (filled with veggies!) - 250 calories
whole wheat english muffin with organic buttery spread - 170 calories

This little snack was in the parking lot of my apartment building.
I did NOT eat this, but it did give me a laugh.

Dinner was a Wahoo's quesadilla filled with cheese and carnitas - 800 calories
with guacamole, sour cream and salsa - 300 calories

Dessert
Reese's dark peanut butter cups - 210 calories
Two words: WORTH. IT.

Total for the day: 2035 calories.
That was a bit too much, mainly due to the high calorie dinner (obvi) but it was what I was craving, and all in all, I'm aiming to stay around 1800 - 2000 calories most days.

As far as exercise today - a big fat zero!
I'm planning to get to bed early tonight so I can go running tomorrow morning before work.

Open Letter

Dear Betsy,

Remember that one time you started a weight-loss blog only to put up two posts and then neglect it horribly? And where did that get you exactly? Oh, that's right, more than 10 pounds HEAVIER than when you started it in the first place. Good going, champ. But seriously, how's that working for you? Not at all you say? Weighing in at 211.0 this morning doesn't put a cheerful grin all over your face, huh? You are obese, and it is time to do something about it. You have successfully lost weight in the past, and YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN.

Let's take a walk down memory lane, weight-wise, shall we? (thanks, fitday.com!)

6/2002 - 135 - my lowest adult weight. I was a STONE. COLD. FOX.

5/21/2003 - 152.5 - Put on about 15 pounds of happy weight after I got married

5/24/2004 - 159 - Still at a healthy weight technically, but higher than the previous year, and getting uncomfortable with my weight.

5/30/2005 - 153 - Back at a more comfortable weight.

5/8/2006 - 148 - 2005/2006 were banner years weight-wise. I got down to 141 in late 2005.

9/20/2006 - 157 - I gained almost 10 pounds in 4 months. Early warning sign of bad things to come.

3/24/2007 - 167 - I gained 10 MORE pounds in 6 months.

7/18/2007 - 183 - I gained 16 MORE pounds in 4 months. Failing marriage, anyone??

5/13/2008 - 175.8 - Was on my way back down post-divorce while living alone.

5/12/2009 - 190.1 - But then I started living with Mandy and dating Nick. This time the weight gain was 15 pounds of happy weight in 1 year.

Today - 211 - Gained 20 more pounds of happy weight since I married Nick. And stopped going to the gym full-stop. Yowza, self. Yowza.

Now, tell me, what do you want to weigh on your birthday this year?

Heavily,
Betsy

Thursday 17 September, 2009

Breakfast: Diet Coke (0), string cheese (80)

Total: 80

Lunch: Water (0), mini carrots (35), Shrimp Alfredo Lean Cuisine (260), sugar free Jello (10)

Total: 305

Snacks: Sugarless gum (3), string cheese (80), Wasa cracker (35), Carmel Apple Lollypop (60)

Total: 178

Dinner: light english muffin (100), 1T peanut butter (90), sugar free jam (10), 3 popchips (12), 2 egg whites (34)

Total: 246

Dessert: Reese's Puffs (120), 1/2 cup fat free milk (40)

Total: 160

Daily Total: 969