Jumping back on the bandwagon.

My main goal when starting this was to lose weight for vacation. So, when I started I was 125lbs, the morning that we left for the airport, I weight 116.8!  As soon as we landed in Florida my diet was off. Sadly, this morning, while back home, I weighed 122.4.  So, I'm jumping back into this now and going to start eating healthy again.

I haven't been exercising either.  I did walk quite a bit around Disney World, but I have to get back into the workout routine again.

Still,
PlumpMom

Low Cal/High Fiber/High Protein Lunch...oh EASY and YUMMY too!

I just wanted to share my lunch really quickly since it was so yummy. I have to thank a friend who mentioned a flat bread pizza she made the other day (thanks, Lexy!).  I stole the idea and it was so yummy!

200 Calories / 14 Fat / 9 Fiber / 22 Protein

Healthy Flat Bread Pizza:

• 1/2 a roll Arnold's Select 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins
• 1 large whole mushroom (chopped)
• 2 thin slices of green peppers (chopped into small cubes)
• 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce
• Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• 1 piece of Canadian bacon (chopped into small cubes)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place sandwich Thin on a pizza pan.
3. Spread 1 tablespoon on top of bread.
4. Add mushrooms, green peppers, Canadian bacon, cheese.
5. Cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve with baby spinach and tomato salad! (I did steal some spinach before I took the picture...oops, but it was too yummy to not)
Enjoy!

yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.

For now,

PlumpMom

Week 3 - Weekly Weigh in

It's been a really busy week, and I haven't been able to walk as much as I'd like, but I'm happy to report that I'm slowly losing weight!

I'm not sure how noticeable the change is in my body just by looking at pictures, but I'm starting to feel it.

It's been a couple days, but I just completed my 2nd round of the 30 Day Shred. It was a little easier this time since I knew what to expect.  I definitely recommend it. It's a quick workout and you can really feel it working.

3 week weight loss: 3.6 lbs.  Wow, that doesn't sound that impressive :(

For Now,

PlumpMom

Day 1 of 30 Day Shred

It's been cold in Chicago, and I haven't been all that motivated to go outside for walks.  I do have a Gazelle at home that I've been using for 30 minutes a day.

Today, at 36 degrees this morning, I jumped on the Gazelle for 20 minutes, then completed my first work out using Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I found the first work out On Demand, and I must say it was quite the work out. I was exhausted, and my arms have a little tinge of soreness now.

16 days until Florida....16 days until I'll be in a swimsuit.


  



For now,
Plumpmom

Walk off the Cellulite

I wish I took before pictures of my legs.  I had some pretty bad cellulite just two weeks ago, and just yesterday I bought a short skirt!  Honestly, I haven't worn a skirt in almost 5 years, because of how bad my cellulite was.  I can't believe, walking is making the cellulite go away.  It's not gone completely, but I can only see it if I squeeze my skin and really look for it.  I've tried all those lotions that promise to get rid of cellulite, and nothing worked...but WALKING DOES! Oh my gosh, I really can't believe it!  Now, if I can only find a cure to get rid of stretch marks!

Unrelated, I found an older pair of roller blades at home today.  I was quite the spectacle at 5:30 am on Rollerblades.  If my neighbors were watching, I'm sure they had a good laugh.

Weekly Weigh In

Not happy with the results. But at least there's a little progress on the scale. My body looks no different...

For Now,

Plumpmom

Free Chocolate!

During my lunch hour, I try to walk for an 40 - 60 minutes every day. Since today's Earth day, there are people giving away free samples.  I scored a free light bulb at the Daley Center.  And on my way back, I got a free sample of a Ghiradelli's Milk Chocolate and Carmel Square. It was SO yummy, and I had to cheat.

Luckily I just checked the calories online and I'm not feeling so bad, knowing that it was only 73 calories! So, if walking one hour burns 200 calories, I can just cancel that little piece of chocolate out.

yum yum yum yum yum.

For now,
Plumpmom

Easy, Delicious, Healthy Turkey Meatloaf

Last night’s dinner was really yummy. I didn’t follow a recipe, I just put my own spin on a beef meatloaf that made a few times in the past. I really recommend this!

Ingredients :
3/4 Pound Lean Ground Turkey
3 egg whites
1 small onion, chopped into small pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped into small pieces
10 medium sized mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of uncooked oatmeal
1 tablespoon of garlic
Salt and pepper to season gently
1/2 cup of 1% milk
1/4 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup of brown sugar (optional)
(You could also add a little bit of flaxseed if you wish)

Tip: I mixed everything together the night before to save time the next day. All I had to do was pop it in the oven!

1. Mix all ingredients (except for ketchup the brown sugar) together in a bowl
2. Form a nice sized loaf on a baking pan or in a casserole dish
3. Place in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour
4. Mix Ketchup and brown sugar together in a bowl (you don’t necessarily need the brown sugar)
5. With 10 minutes remaining, check that it is evenly cooked and almost finished. If so, add the ketchup mix to the top of the loaf.
6. Remove from oven, and cut into slices.

The great thing about meatloaf, is that you could add any veggies you like! Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture, but I assure you it was delicious!

I served this with an easy Tomato and Onion Salad.
(Tomotoes, Onions, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil and pepper.)
Yum, yum, yum, yum yum.
For now,
Plump mom

Frustrated with the lack of weight loss

When I first got my scale, 5 days ago, I weighed 125.0.

I've heard that you aren't supposed to weigh yourself every day, but I can't help myself. The scale has never said anything less than 125.4 since last Friday. It's usually 126 - 127.9. What is going on here? What am I doing wrong?

I've cut back on the calories that I eat, and try to eat healthy. I exercise so much more than before (before it was nothing)....and still the scale is going the wrong way.

My husband was telling me that his boss is on the Atkins diet and has been losing a ton of weight. I tried that 3 years ago and it worked great, but I gained it all back once I introduced carbs again. I'm really tempted to do it anyways. I just might if I don't see changes by next week.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Here's what I'm doing:

Exercise:

200 crunches, 100 leg lifts in the morning before getting ready

Walk for 1 hour in downtown Chicago during my lunch break

100 crunches, 50 leg lifts mid day if I can steal an empty office

Walk for 1 hour at home after work

200 crunches, 100 leg lifts before bed
(Thinking about doing the 30 Day Shred in the mornings instead, but I tried today, and I couldn't get past 5 "beginner" push ups :()


Yesterday's Diet:
Breakfast:

4 Strawberries

1/2 cup of Cottage Cheese

1 slice of whole wheat bread

Lunch:

1/2 can of tuna

2 celery stalks

1 cup of Yoplait yogurt

Snack:

1 serving of mixed nuts (unsalted)

Dinner:

Small portion of grilled fish w/ pepper seasoning

Grilled Veggies (green beans, cauliflower, carrots)

1/4 cup of rice


I'm giving up everything I love to eat, spending so much time walking, and still not showing any results. FRUSTRATING!

For now,
Plumpmom

Eating healthy is actually really yummy

I am not counting calories. I don't know how to do that, a I really don't want to spend time examining the side of a box. Instead, I'm just trying to make healthier choices.

A typical breakfast for me before, would be a 3 or 4 egg omelet with bacon and cheese, 2 pieces of toast topped with nutella, and maybe some sausage too. The past few days, I've changed up my breakfast choices and I have to admit, they were delicious. E was enjoying the fruits too!

My favorite was what my husband made for me Sunday morning. (not pictured below) It was a 2 egg white omelet with onions, banana, yogurt and 1/2 slice of whole wheat bagel with peanut butter.

Saturday Morning: Bananas, Blueberries, yogurt, 1/2 of a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter.



This Morning: Strawberries, Blueberries, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, and 1/2 of a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter.



Yum yum yum yum yum.

For now,
Plumpmom

Look what I got. A Scale!

I've always heard that you should weigh yourself in the morning. I don't really understand why, but it works! When I bought this last night, I checked it and I weighed 127.9. This morning, I'm 125!

It's kind of depressing to see my pictures and realize that I only weigh 125. That 15 lbs of extra weight looks bad on me. I saw in a forum that I shared my blog with, women were saying that I looked closer to 145 lbs. :( Hopefully, I can lose this 15 lbs by the end of summer.

Anyways, off for a morning walk.

For now,
PlumpMom

It's all about choices

Before I started taking this seriously, pizza, pasta, burgers and anything cheese covered made up the majority of my meals. I'm now learning to change the way I eat. I'm not going to lie, it's hard.

I met my husband for a late lunch today. I ordered a julienne salad (didn't eat all the cheese), and the waitress put down a bread basket. Before, I would have probably eaten two bread rolls...not today. But, I did sneak in 4 waffle cut french fries from my husbands plate (yum...ha!).

Anyways, here's lunch and dinner for today. And to be honest, it was pretty dang good. Dinner was especially great!


Lunch: Julienne Salad with Turkey, ham, cheese, egg, artichoke hearts, cucumber, tomatoes, green peppers.

Dinner: HOMEMADE Roasted chicken legs, asparagus and broccoli (E loved this too!)

yum yum yum yum yum.

For Now,
PlumpMom

Oh, Good God, this is embarrassing

I'm embarrassed to post these pictures. The only reason I'm making myself do this is to show the world (or the 2 people that may be reading this blog), how unflattering my body is today. I'm pretty good at hiding this thanks to clothes and spanx. These pictures really do bare it all.

My hopes is that by admitting this, I will not give up and will accomplish my goal.

I took these pictures after coming home from a 30 minute walk. So they aren't pretty...well, that's not really an excuse.

Here they are, poochy belly and all.

And, before you judge, please be kind. I carried two babies in there over the course of 2 years. I gained 60+ lbs with both of the girls during my pregnancies too so it stretched quite a bit. I know these pics aren't pretty, but with some hardwork, I hope to see a change.

Meet my inspiration.

These girls are my world. E is 19 months old, A is 6 months old.
Every day I look at them and wonder what they will think about me when they grow up. The other day, I grabbed a milky way bar, and E started crying pointing at me so I would share with her. Last night we were reading a book and she saw a plate of cookies in the book. She blurted our "OOKIES!" and asked for "more". That was the first time I heard ookies, but I knew it was time for a change. She can't see mommy eating candy and cookies every day. These girls need to learn a healthy life style, and that starts with me.

For Now,
PlumpMom

Where I am at today.

I need to invest in a digital scale. As of right now, I don't have a working scale in my house. I never really wanted to weigh myself becuase I knew I would be unhappy with what I saw. The last time I got on the scale was at my girls' peditrician office. It read 130.

I know what you are thinking - "130? That's not fat!". But let me tell you a little more. I am 5'2", and have a very petite build. Not once in my life did I weight over 110 lbs until I got pregnant with my first. And with that being said, I was still the biggest girl out of all my cousins. My cousins never broke the 100 mark! There really was much spoken competition about weight, but at family get togethers, it was always known. Aunt's and uncle's always make comments about how I am "getting fat".

Throughout high school, I had a really unhealthy relationship with food. I used to write the code SN2F ("say no to food") on my hand so I would see it every day as I thought about bringing the fork to my lips. I ate one meal a day, and that was forced on me by my aunt.. I didn't want her to know, so I ate.

After I met my husband, I let my fear of food go. And the tables turned. My unhealthy relationship with food did a complete 360. I would eat everything that was bad for me. In one night I could finish, 2 slices of pizza, 1 deep fried pizza puff, a gyro and 2 scoops of ice cream. (Yeah, that was a common meal!) My body didn't seem to notice, and I always stayed skinny.

Fast forward 9 years. Here I am married with 2 beautiful little girls, and I keep on adding the weight.

So, for the first time in my life I am going to start working out and eating healthy.

I will not be joining a gym, instead I am going to find ways to be more active, watch what I eat, and drink more water.

I will make this happen.

For now,
PlumpMom

Welcome to my Journey!

Over the past two years, my life changed drastically. I got married, and had two kids back to back. My girls are my life, and I wouldn't change anything for the world. I am happy with the way my life is going, but I am not happy with the way my body is.

Having two babies 13 months apart changed my body drastically. And now all my free time is spent caring for the girls.

This blog will follow my journey to get back in shape and lose the baby weight. The main reason I decided to write a blog is to hold myself accountable. My main goal is to get into shape, teach my girls HEALTHY eating habits and to feel better about myself and my body.

There have been too many times I told myself that I'll start my diet tomorrow, start walking tomorrow, start eating healthy after I finish this piece of mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. I need to make a change, and it needs to start now.

I will be a skinny mom one day!