A New Commitment

This is what 6 weeks of hard work and learning how to eat healthy food looks like

Twelve Pounds and Ten Inches gone 

I’ve struggled with my weight and body image for a great deal of my life. I’ve always attempted to be active with varying success and have been “donating” to the local Y for 7 years. Dieting has caused me to gain and lose the same 10-15 pounds over and over again (with Medifast & Atkins), because it wasn’t sustainable.  I gained 40 pounds over the past 10 years (not including my pregnancy, which put me into the 60-70 lb range).

Around my birthday, Gina Notes (a friend of my cousin-in-law Meg, that I met at Pat & Meg's wedding) sent me a message asking if I wanted to join a health and fitness Challenge Group. I had been giving some serious thought to my health and weight lately, as I had just lost and regained the same 5 pounds in the last month. I have hypothyroidism and have been on medication for years – the condition makes it harder for me to lose weight, among other things. Diabetes also runs in my family, as does high blood pressure and cholesterol, which have both been steadily creeping up over the years.

I had recently seen some Facebook posts from an old classmate who had recently undergone an amazing transformation with the 80 Day Obsession program. After being inspired by her, I decided to say yes to Gina and commit to my health.

I joined her April challenge group and completed one round of the 21 Day Fix program without straying from the program at all. At the end of those 3 weeks, I had lost 7” and 7 pounds. Since then I have lost an additional 3” and 5 pounds by (mostly) following the Fixate healthy meal plan. It’s not easy. At the end of the 3 weeks, I had a few cheats. And then Memorial Day weekend happened, and I had more cheats.

The truth is that I felt like crap after my cheat days. My body felt wrong and I felt guilty. I have changed my mindset with my cheats. I now consider them a treat instead of a cheat, and I don’t overindulge. If you know me, you know that I love food and eating. I’m now just trying to eat the right kinds of foods now and to find some balance in my diet. 

All of that said, instead of drinking the Kool-Aid, I’m officially drinking the Shake-O. It’s true, I’ve decided to become a Beachbody Coach. I just ordered Beachbody's new 2B Mindset Nutrition program and will be trying that out along with some of their other programs (I'm pretty pumped for their LIIFT4 program - just four days a week AND a cheat day??? I LOVE IT!!).

I still have another 20+ pounds to go to get back to the weight I was ten years ago, but my biggest goal is to just keep eating well and staying active (pushing play as the BB Mantra goes). 

Don't worry, I'm not going to become a crazy Beachbody person who is constantly posting sweaty selfies on Facebook and Instagram. I'm just looking forward to helping others on their journey. I've always thought that I was pretty disciplined and could do anything that I set my mind to. It turned out that I needed a tribe, positive words, encouragement, and the daily accountability of checking in to my challenge group. Even better, the workouts are 30 minutes or less a day. It's not rocket science. Anyone can do it, and I love that there is a program for everyone.

So I'll be starting my own challenge group in the next few weeks. There is an early access to the LIIFT4 program that starts in July that I think I will do. I'm really not looking at this as any major way to earn income - I just want additional accountability for myself and to support people who need it. I think that this will satisfy my long-held desire to inspire others and help them reach their full potential. 

My why: helping others makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and as a a slightly older mom, I want to be able to keep up with my kid for many years to come. 

The Election

Now that it's over and I've had some time to lick my wounds, I am going to strive more than ever to practice random acts of kindness, and stand up for others.

Mark Anakin is here... and a month old!

On September 5th at 1 p.m., I checked into the hospital for my labor to be induced. Twenty-nine hours later, on September 6th at 4:41 p.m., Mark Anakin was born. 7 lbs, 5 oz and 20 inches long.

My life has been a bit busy since this little guy arrived.

MAL <1 hour old - first picture that went out via text/email/Facebook 

There was also an incident involving waffles that caused me to lose it the day I checked into the hospital. It was pretty much the only time I got overly emotional over something stupid while I was pregnant, but in my defense, I was over a week overdue at that point. One day soon I'll write about my waffle and labor experience. In some ways it was better than I expected and in others it was worse.

It was all worth it when they put that wriggling messy human on my chest - it was instant love like I've never known. I was also overwhelmed with the new love I felt for my husband. He was amazing during (and afterwards, of course) the labor process and seeing him as a dad is so awesome. I am so grateful for this journey that we are taking together.

The nurse (Bernadette) during delivery told Dr. Liu that Jay was the best husband/labor partner she's ever seen while working there. Bernadette said that Jay was just perfect - that he was supportive of me and generally helpful for everyone. She said that some partners don't do a good job of being supportive or are too protective and get in the staff's way. Dr. Liu said that Bernadette has never mentioned anyone else positively for as many times as she's worked with her.

This is the last picture ever taken of me pregnant. Although my pregnancy was free of complications apart from my back spasms, it's not something that I am eager to do ever again. Plus little Markface is so damn perfect, I don't know why we would need another kid. That and I feel like one kid is totally doable when it comes to traveling.

After his bath - cleaned up photo in the hospital

First day at home

He's so sweet when he's sleeping

Instagram photo taken during photoshoot we took with the good camera (still haven't uploaded those photos)

I know that all parents want to think that their kid is the smartest, most advanced, and early with milestones. We think ours is pretty amazing. 

Here are a few details just in case I forget them later on:  

He weighed 7 lbs when we left the hospital. He was back to his birth weight at his two day check-up, and had already started holding his head up a bit.

At one week, he was up to 8 lbs. At his two week appointment, he weighed 8 lbs 11 oz. He also passed all of his one month milestone checks then and was doing so well gaining weight (the pediatrician said I must have milkshake boobs) that we could skip his one month appointment and bring him at 6 weeks.

The kid is insanely strong. He can support his weight on his legs briefly and has great head control. He makes eye contact and can track objects somewhat. So far he has blue eyes.

Mark at one month

Other stuff that's gone on this month: 

Mark's plastibell device from his circumcision didn't function properly. It was supposed to fall off after it healed. Instead it got stuck on. So a week after being discharged from the hospital, we watched our baby scream for an hour while two pediatricians tried to remove it. We almost ended up having to take him to the ER to have it taken off. Fortunately the docs were finally able to remove it. It was incredibly traumatizing for all of us.

Jay started working construction part time for an Amish guy. He shot himself in the leg when his nail gun misfired. Which he of course pulled out himself, slapped a band-aid on and wrapped electrical tape around his leg. He then finished his day at work. I would have cried and gone to the ER.

Loki decided he wasn't getting enough attention and broke his leg. He knocked me out of the way while I was taking out the trash, ran out the front door and after a speeding car coming around the corner. He is good with the baby, but has been a serious pain in the ass since he broke his leg. The vet said that we can't play with him as usual and can only take him on walks to wear him out. Of course that doesn't work so well.

Oh and I just came down with a case of mastitis. It sucks.

So it's been an eventful month! Sure hope the next month is less eventful.

More Words Wednesday - The Healthier Me Edition

Okay, so just a few words.

The weight loss plateau has been a huge PITA. I've been so focused on the numbers on the scale that I've neglected to see the changes in my body.

Top right: Wedding - July 2012  Top left: Niagara Falls - August 2011

Bottom left: February 2013 (two weeks after start of diet) Bottom right - June 2012

Total weight loss: 12 pounds and holding...  8 pounds until I'm no longer considered "overweight"

Please be kind... I have no make-up on!

Left photo: April 1st.  Right photo:  May 1st. More tan and slightly leaner, yet I weigh the same.

But here's the thing. Last night at the pub, two of my friends joked about how big my biceps were. I'd just finished an 800 yard swimming exercise of death that my friend Sherye had given me. Haven't drowned yet.

I'm not sure if it's the swimming or the post hole digging over the weekend, but yes, my arms are looking more strong.

Please pardon the goofy facial expressions

I will keep tracking my weight, but I will instead focus more on how my clothes are fitting, eating healthy, and continuing to exercise regularly.

I'm not going to be as strict with tracking my food and exercise while we're on vacation. I think that I'll keep a handwritten journal of exercise, but besides that I don't think I'll be tracking too much. I'm planning to be active while we're there so as long as I don't gain, I should be okay.

Only ten nine days until we leave for vacation. I'm saying nine, since we'll be in NJ next Friday for a wedding. Initially I was annoyed that we are missing another day in Australia, but it will be nice to hang out with some fun people the day before we leave. It will be the perfect kickoff to 21 days of R&R&A (rest, relaxation and a healthy dose of adventure too!). I need them and goshdarnit, I deserve them.

Wordless Wednesdays - The Weight Loss Edition

Before and After

We are nearly done. I am beyond exhausted and hurt all over.

There was a mad rush to get everything done this weekend - getting the porch painted to improve curb appeal, straightening the yard, painting trim in the house, straightening, dusting, sweeping, mopping, shining, staging. You would not believe how filthy the house was - and I feel like we just cleaned it! Constant construction = constant dirt and dust. Jay had to work yesterday, so I busted my ass from the time I got up to the time I crawled into bed. We had hoped to finish the stairs, but at 10 pm last night, I gave up. The steps still needed to be sanded before we stain and poly them and there was no way I had another 2 hours in me. Overall, we spent 51 man hours from Friday through Sunday working on our project. Jay spent 21 hours between Friday and Saturday, I spent 27 hours between Friday and Sunday, and my girlfriend Angela came over and helped us paint for about 3 hours on Saturday.

Why the mad rush? Our house is being appraised today for refinancing. When my dad died, I inherited a substantial sum of money. However, since he wasn't planning on dying anytime soon, the majority of the money was in an IRA. I don't think he knew much about how IRA's work, because the money that he had inherited from my grandparents was all in cash, which he converted to the IRA. Since I wasn't a surviving spouse, nor of retirement age, I took a HUGE hit on taxes, which left me with less than half of the original amount. I won't lie - I spent about half of the remainder on a ring to wear in my dad's memory, furnishing my Odenton apartment, paying the disparity in rent between what I was putting in to make up for my ex not making much money, Ann Taylor clothes for work (and good makeup & skincare products) and took some nice vacations with the ex (which was also mostly on my dime). The rest of the money went to dumpster rental and some emergency repairs with the house, mainly the roof and porch to the tune of $30,000. By the time I met Jay, most of the money was gone - so I had to take out a home equity line of credit for the actual rehab project. And of course aforementioned rehab project ended up taking more time and costing way more than what I took out from the HELOC. So that is the long story short of why we are refinancing. Once the new conventional mortgage is in place, we will be saving almost $500 a month - or more, if the appraiser gives us a better LTV (loan to value).

Add all of this work to the Atkins diet that I started last Wednesday? My body is screaming for more nourishment. I probably should have eaten more this weekend, but we were so busy. The thing that I've noticed about Atkins is that I'm not as hungry, and things with the least number of carbs suddenly tastes ultra sweet. We had green beans on Saturday and they tasted sugary to me. Weird! So that's going pretty well, but I need to force myself to eat more often. Today is day six and I feel pretty shaky this morning. I'm sure it's because I didn't eat enough this weekend and I put my body through hell.

Unfortunately I don't have photos of every room for the before comparison.

So, without further ado... I give you the final comparison (and some in-between) photos:

Not too shabby, eh? :)