Back on Track

And for GOOD!
My husband and I are getting healthy - together. It makes this whole process so much easier when your in it together.

I started back on Weight Watchers on August 11, 2009. I have done really well with my points, and have lost about 7 lbs so far. Officially I'm down 4.6 lbs. My next weigh in is on Sunday. I started back out at 228.6 and my weigh in last Sunday was 224.0.

I haven't added in any exercise yet. I want to get my eating and portions under control, learn my triggers, and make getting my water in all second nature, then I'll throw some exercising into the mix. If I jump in all at once, I get discouraged. Matt suggested that we get up really early and do the treadmill before the kids are up. I told him flat out - if I am forced to get up at 5am to walk the treadmill, I will dread it and not want to do it. Yes, there are people who do that. I am not one of them. I also have a few DVD workouts that I plan on starting in on soon.

I also decided to post some recipes on here. I'll add pictures. I'd like to do a "WFD" (what's for dinner) post each day. Showing the recipe, steps and some pictures of what I made for dinner.

So I'll start off with last nights dinner. It was really good. Pretty filling and easy to make.

Creamy Cheese Capellini

1/2 lb whole wheat capellini
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed through a press
1 (6 ounce) bag baby spinach
1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded fat free mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp salt

Cook the capelini according to package, omitting the salt if desired. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes are softened about 2 minutes, add the spinach in batches, stirring just until each batch is wilted.

Add the capellini, reserved cooking liquid, cheeses and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheeses are melted.

Serves 4

I had to use whole milk Ricotta. I only had 1 plum tomato, so I added a can of diced tomatoes, so my point value was higher than what the recipe says it is (you'll have to add it to your recipe builder to get the points value).

Also, I would have added either more garlic or some garlic pepper seasoning. It was a tad on the bland side. But it was still pretty good.

The ingredients


Adding the spinach to the garlic and tomatoes


Wilted baby spinach


End Result

Amazing Improvements!

When I first got my treadmill, a little over a week ago, I could barely jog 30 seconds on it. Today...even after taking 2 days off in a row, I was able to jog about 15 minutes out of 20! 8 of those in a row--jogging between 4-5mph. I did a 1 minute warm up, then the mph went from 3 to 4.5. I almost turned it down, but decided to go for it. When I first looked at the display, it said 18:56 *counting down my time*, when I looked again while dripping in sweat, it said 10:40ish. I remember looking and at one point, for about 2 minutes worth, I was jogging at 5mph. then I stopped for a few seconds and had some water, then I did a fast walk for about 30 seconds, then ran for a minute or two, then fast walk, you get the idea. So I *think* I jogged for around 15 minutes out of the 20. The last 2 minutes of the 20 were the cool down/walk. It amazes me that I can see such improvements in a little over a week. by the end of my work out, I was sweating my ass off, but I wasn't overly winded. My first day I was about dying. Oh yea----and today, I was on the weight loss setting! Woohoo!! Also, when I weighed myself yesterday I was down to 219.8! today I'm back up to 220.6, but....I'm losing weight. I really NEED to get a tape measure to measure myself! I know I've lost inches--even Matt said something. :)

Officially a week in

and I'm already getting discouraged. Bummer.

I tend to weigh myself every day. I think it helps me stay on top of things. But it can also be so discouraging when the scale doesn't move in the direction it *should*, or doesn't move at all. I weighted myself this morning, a week after I started on WWs, and 4 days after really working out. I was at 222.6! Are you kidding me? I'm up since Friday? I'm so frustrated. I'm actually up from yesterday morning. What the heck. I mean, I have been really good on WWs and working out. Heck, I worked out 2 times yesterday (am and pm) just to see the scale go up?
A friend of mine has hypothyroidism. I fear that the symptoms describe me pretty well.....

• Fatigue
  
• Sluggishness
  
• Increased sensitivity to cold
  
• Constipation
• Pale, dry skin
  
• A puffy face
• Hoarse voice
• An elevated blood cholesterol level
• Unexplained weight gain
  
• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
  
• Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
  
• Muscle weakness
  
• Heavier than normal menstrual periods
  
• Brittle fingernails and hair
  
• Depression
  

So 10 out of 15....batting better than 1/2 on that one. Hmmm. I guess if I'm still having a hard time losing weight (and I know it has only been 1 week), I will be making an appointment with my doc to do a blood test. A few months ago when I was doing WWs for about 4-5 weeks, I had only lost like 5 lbs or so. When I have done WWs and dieted, etc hardcore, that would be how much I would lose the first week. After I had Ben, I remember my CNM telling me that they tested my thyroid levels in the hospital and they were off. Not sure if they were up or down or what. But we moved 2 months after having him, so I don't think I was ever rechecked.

I did a work out on the treadmill this morning. I'm already starting to lose my will, desire and excitement in this whole thing. But I must push forward. I know it's just the scale discouraging me. I should take my measurments...but I need to buy a tapemeasurer.

Off to hit the shower and do something productive for the day. I wonder if folding clothes and putting them away earns activity points? ;)

Stats

I need to measure myself yet, but I'll start with my weight, height, and some info on how the first week has gone.

My starting weight was 223.6. I'm also 5'4"--because that does matter in the whole scheme of things. At my weigh in (WI) on Friday, I was down to 221.0. Actually, I started WW's that Monday, so that was a loss of 2.6lbs in about 5 days. Not bad. I did fairly well all week. I went over my points 4 out of the 5 days, but I had my flex points to use. I'll tell you, the first few days are hard. I was starving and counting down the seconds to the next meal or snack. I ate a lot of apples and oranges last week. I had a quick breakfast that consisted of a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich each morning and lunch came early (11am). I noticed by day 3 things were getting better. I wasn't famished as much. Friday rolled around and I told Matt we were buying a treadmill. So we went with my brother (who owns a truck) and his girlfriend and we went and bought our nice new shiny treadmill. I'm was smitten. :) I've been wanting one of these for years. I actually considered getting an Elliptical, but went with the treadmill because that is what I've wanted for some time, even though Ellipticals are the "new thing. After we got the treadmill, we went to dinner (unexpected). I was good and good a Buffal Chicken Salad and Matt betrayed me and got a burger and fries. Man did that look good! As I chowed down, my mouth was set on fire by that salad. Holy Smokes was that hot! Matt called me a wuss....I should have called him weak ;) At least I had the healthier option. Although, I did take 1 tiny bite of his burger--it was as good as it looked. Sigh....

So we got home and set up the treadmill (well, Matt did, had I participated in setting it up, it would have been a death trap). I did my first work out on it. I thought, how hard can this be? I'm sure I'll sweat a little, but come on. It's a treadmill. No harm. So I get on my workout pants, pull my hair up, round the kids up and gate them in the playroom (where I can still see them) and turn the music on. I put it on the "Weight Loss" work out setting thinking the "classic workout" was for wimps. I'm not *that* out of shape, I can surely manage a simple 20 minute workout setting on the treadmill. So it starts up, I'm digging this. Not bad. I like to walk. Then I hear the beep and the incline goes up automatically. Ok, this is good, I'm feeling my calves and thighs starting to get warm, but I'm still doing good. Then the speed goes up again. Ok, this is starting to worry me, I'm already sweating and out of breath, and have been on this thing for less than 6 minutes. Surely this is a mistake. I am NOT that out of shape. Come on, I chase and lift kids around the house all day. Now I'm running. I haven't ran in forever. Like, 10 years. Now my entire lower body burns, I feel like someone is stabbing me in the chest and I'm sweating buckets (mind you, we're not even up to 10 minutes yet--I'm only half way through). Weight loss work out huh? I think this thing has an evil plot to kill me off. I jumped off and grabbed my water fearing I was going to have a heart attack at 26. I turned the speed down to a brisk walk and kept at that speed until my 20 minutes of hell were over with. Ok, maybe I am *that* out of shape. It was a sad day.

The next day I did better on the beast. I did use the "classic workout" setting realizing my weaknesses. It was better. I didn't have to turn the speed down at all. I even jogged a little. Today was even better. I jogged for 2 minutes straight on the "classic workout" setting, with a few other spurts of jogging in there, and I actually felt good by the time my 3o minutes were up. By next week, I'll be running a marathon. Ok, ok, that's obviously an exaggeration, but really, I'm proud of what I've been able to accomplish in 3 short days. My hubby even got up and worked out at 6am! Go Matt!!!....then he tried waking me up at 6:30 to do my workout....funny man.

Oh, we treated ourselves this weekend with Ice Cream. Oh the cold, creamy goodness of my favorite dessert on the entire planet. But, I logged the points (13 to be exact) and went about my business. I know that if I completely take out everything that I enjoy, it will be harder for to accomplish my goal. It's not about depriving myself, but learning to take things in moderation. I'm not punishing myself, but taking care of myself. And I can have a treat now and then. It just can't be every day--and it has to be in moderation when I do have it.

About Me and this Blog

My name is Bridget, and I'm a 26 year old wife and mother. I've been married to Matt for 5 years, but we have been together for almost 10. We have 2 boys, Benjamin and Camden. I'm also a photographer.

I'm starting this weight loss blog to keep myself in check. To hopefully inspire others, and by hoping to do that, it puts more pressure on me to stay on track and actually commit to losing the weight. My goal weight is about 155. But when I plug in my height, weight and frame size HERE, it tells me that I should aim for a lower weight-

Ideal weight range is 130 - 143 lbs. (59.1 - 65 kg.).
You are overweight by 78 lbs. (35 kg.).
You may wish to consult with your physician for medical help.

I think with my frame, 143 is too small. Maybe not. I haven't been 143 in a long time. Think high school (almost 9 years ago). So we'll see how I'm feeling once I get to *my* goal.

No on to how I'm going to accomplish this massive task of losing at least 66 pounds of myself.
I have joined Weight Watchers Online. I've been there and done that. The last time I was serious about losing weight, I started at 216 and was down to 182 at my lowest. That weight loss was within a 3 month time period and I felt good. I was a part time college student and was working a lot. I was living with Matt, but we barely saw each other due to our conflicting work schedules, homework and classes. I rarely cooked meals for us because of that, and I lived on frozen Lean Cuisine and other meals of the sort. That was easy! No one else to worry about. Pop a frozen meal in the microwave and I was good to go. Snacks were easy too. I measured out my snack, knew exactly the amount of points and I didn't have little fingers eagerly grabbing at whatever I was trying to eat or drink, compromising those sacred points. If I wanted to work out, I didn't have to be a jungle gym in the process. Now that I'm a mom, it's more difficult. Not only do I have to worry about taking care of my family and cooking something the entire family will enjoy, being pregnant twice has taken a toll on my poor body. The weight doesn't come off as easily as it once did, and things aren't where they once were--even at 26. Boobs that are perky and don't need extra-strength supportive bras--forget it. A belly that rivals a deflated tired--that's affirmative. I had 2 c-sections and I fear that my poor belly will never be the same. Such is life. Moving on.

So anyway--I am following the Weight Watchers online program, working out on my treadmill that we just bought, my husband is doing this with me and I'm not making any more excuses. I'm also a moderator for a Mom's board and we have a fabulous group of girls. A few of us have be participating in a thread called "Getting Fit in 2009". So they are helping me stay in check there too.

I'm done putting myself on the back burner. I will make time for myself every day. And that time will be spent making sure that I get what I need, when I need it. Especially in the form of working out for at least 30 minutes on the treadmill, taking the time to measure my portions correctly and not just guess, drink the amount of water I should (by the way-it's AT LEAST 8 glasses a day), and log in my food journal. I also want to try new recipes that I think the family will all like. With 2 toddlers, that will be interesting, but I think if we continue to push healthy food and vegetables, they'll get it. Our youngest doesn't mind vegetables for the most part, but our older son is insistent that they are "yucky". We'll see.