Fantastic Friday

So it's Friday, and today is the day that I track my fantastic results!

So, I changed to my healthy eating lifestyle 10 weeks ago, and I've been working out for 7 weeks now. And... the best results to report are that I feel awesome! I have energy! I haven't been sick for 7 weeks now. (Which is an amazing feat, especially since this whole winter, I've gotten sick once or twice a month!) My mind feels clear, my nose is clear, and it's CLEAR that I need to do some clothes shopping! ;)

Now the numbers...

...I've lost 11 pounds, and 9.5 inches total! (3 of those inches came off my waist, and 2 off my hips! WOOHOO!)

And... I had some fun the other day trying on my old high school prom dresses... And they fit!



The angle is off because I had my daughter take this picture today, but Travis (my husband) loved seeing me in my old dresses! (Especially since I went to my Junior Prom with him!)

Also, yesterday was my birthday. I had an amazing day! Especially since I started the day off by getting up early and did some core exercises and some yoga. It was a great way to start celebrating the day of my birth with gratitude for my body.

I have so much to be grateful for. And I think that is the number one key to having Postpartum Joy. Gratitude. No matter how small, there is always something to be grateful for. And when we focus on that, it is only then can we feel joy, and our lives will be improved.

Cheat Meal

Why eating a cheat meal is a good thing...

So I've been a part of this health challenge group with my friend Heidi who organized it, for almost 4 weeks now. It's been really awesome and motivating. We have weekly group coaching calls, weekly accountability partner calls, weekly one-on-one coaching, and a personal journal, health tracker, and lots of great information provided in our weekly topics. Whew! What a way to stay motivated!

So this week we've been talking about the emotional triggers for food, cravings, why we sneak food, and habits we have created around food.

So the assignment was to have a cheat day. (Yes, I was told to eat whatever I wanted!) But then record our feelings on that.

Well...honestly, I didn't really want to have a cheat day or even meal, so I reluctantly gave in for the sake of the experiment. And I must say, I did learn a lot from it. That I don't want to do that again!

So... in my reluctance... I figured I was was going to a dinner for the women in my church, I'll just count that as my "cheat meal." So I get there, and all I see are salads, bread-sticks, and cupcakes, and a bunch of food warmers. So ok... looks good. I could definitely go for those cupcakes. Then come to find out, it's a pasta bar. Now pasta's not really my thing, but I indulged anyway. It was kind of lousy that my cheat meal wasn't full of my favorite foods, but whatever.

So I had pasta, with alfredo sauce and chicken, salad, bread-sticks, and a basic green salad with ranch dressing. Not bad, except that I've been eating mostly a low-fat, whole grain, sugar-free plant-based diet. So the chicken, alfredo sauce, and bread-sticks were things that I don't normally eat. I did load up on the salad, and surprisingly, that was the most satisfying thing in the whole meal. The chicken was just gross.

Alright, so not much of a cheat meal, right? Well, just wait... Then I had two chocolate cupcakes with really good mint frosting on top. And then, at the dinner, we all brought our favorite thing to help others get to know us better. And then we ended up exchanging them. So I brought a pineapple, which honestly is one of my favorite treats lately. But in exchange I got a chocolate Toblerone bar. THERE we go! You can't have a cheat meal without chocolate right?!?

So I went home, and indulged in the WHOLE Toblerone bar! Boy was it good, but it wasn't long after that I started feeling the effects from the whole meal. I felt bloated, started getting REALLY tired, and I started getting a headache. I just felt BLAH! So I went to bed, and in the morning when I woke up, I felt horrible and still really tired. I just didn't want to get up, and this was at 8:00am! But my green smoothie breakfast was heaven! Just what my body needed and thirsted for!

So then... I went to work out (even though I didn't feel like it at all!) And I noticed my work-out was harder, I got tired faster, and I felt like crap after!

So yeah... I don't want to eat like that again. And it wasn't even THAT bad! Trust me, I could've eaten A LOT worse! But the most interesting thing is... that I've been taking my healthy body and the way I've felt for granted a little bit. Because it wasn't until I felt horrible after eating crappy food, that I realized, Wow! I've been feeling really good! No stomach issues, my energy is up! my mind is clear, and I feel GREAT! Why would I want to go back to the way I used to eat? And feel like CRAP?!?

So yes, even though I was reluctant to have a cheat meal... I learned a very valuable lesson. Eat great, FEEL GREAT! Eat crap, FEEL LIKE CRAP!

Losing weight

So like I said in my last post, I'm actually losing weight!



It's been about 7 weeks that I've changed the way I eat, and I've been working out now for 4 weeks. Now I'll talk more later about what specifically I'm eating and what work-out plan I'm doing. But right now I wanted to celebrate my success so far, and give you a few tips that I've learned with adapting a healthy lifestyle with kids and a baby in tow.

Now, before I got pregnant with #3, I lost 30 lbs, but I was on the verge of gaining it back before I got pregnant. So after I had this baby, I actually got down to pretty close to pre-pregnancy weight pretty fast thanks to coming off a healthier pregnancy and then breastfeeding and sort of somewhat healthy eating. So now I'm actually working on losing the weight I had gained when I was first married and before I ever got pregnant.

The results...

...So... in 7 weeks I've lost 8 lbs, and a total of 4.5 inches in 4 weeks, including 2 inches from my waist!. (I didn't take measurements until I started working out...)

YAY! I'm so happy with those results. And I'm even MORE happy with how I feel, and how much energy I have and how clear my head feels!

So, a few tips...

• Be committed but flexible... Make a decision to work out 6 days a week, or whatever you decide, but be flexible on your schedule. Meaning, before a day begins, I already KNOW that I'm going to work-out that day, there's no question about that, because I already decided. But... I've had to keep the time of when I work-out flexible. At first I thought I could work-out before the kids got up, but that just didn't work out... so plan B was to work out when my baby has her first nap, and sometimes it's been during her second nap, but the point is that I work out! During the first week of exercising, I got pretty frustrated because I got interrupted during my work-out, or that I didn't shower until 1:30 in the afternoon, but you know what? That was OK! And I learned to be flexible. So in 4 weeks of exercising 6 days a week, I've only missed one work-out thanks to this approach.


• Don't forbid yourself to have any food... Usually when I have done that before, like with sugar... I lasted oh... 24 hours before I caved and gorged myself with sugar. Instead... tell yourself you can have some every once in a while. Maybe it could be a reward for eating so well all week, or a little something here and there. But the point is, you can have it, a little bit, once in a while. Then you're not so apt to go crazy with it. If you have some, don't beat yourself up, move on, and continue eating healthy. Which brings me to my next tip...


• It's a lifestyle change NOT a temporary diet... When I reach my goal weight, I'm not going to say, "Yay! I did it! Now I can go back to eating crap!" Because then I'll gain all my weight back. Yes, like I said before, I'll have a treat once in a while. But I'm still going to continue to eat my new healthy eating lifestyle.


• Live in the present and enjoy the journey... Celebrate the little wins, be grateful for the body that you have now! I GET to enjoy delicious healthy foods! I GET to move around and work-out! I GET to breathe and just be GRATEFUL. I GET to be ALIVE! Relish those feelings of gratitude NOW, and you will go far.

Well, those are my tips for the day, and my celebration of losing weight, and living a healthy life full of energy and vitality, YAY!

Changing the definition of Postpartum

Postpartum...

Most of the time, even just that one word... makes people think of depression, like that very word automatically means depression. Yes, there are many, MANY women who suffer from postpartum depression. But just the word postpartum by itself means the period of time after having a baby.

So, it is my desire to change the way people think about postpartum. That we can actually enjoy every moment after we have a baby. Yes, postpartum JOY is actually possible. How do I know this? Because I've experienced it. I've also experienced the other end as well...



You see... this was me about 3 years ago... Fat and depressed.

This was me about a year and a half after I had my second baby. In fact, I got down to pretty close to my pre-pregnancy weight pretty fast. But then, over the next year or so, I gained about 30 lbs! I was so depressed, breastfeeding sucked, I resented my baby sometimes, I couldn't WAIT until my kids slept, I was merely surviving everyday, doing nothing for myself. My life was out of control. I was so hormonal and stressed that THE minute we put our kids to bed I went straight downstairs gathered all the junk food I was hiding... ice cream, chips, candy, chocolate and plop myself in front of the TV and dive right in. I was VERY much an emotional eater... and that food kept me in my depression. It was a never-ending tail-spin! There were even times where I was just so fed up, and thought, "What's the point in going on??" and even thought about ending my life.

But...

There is a light at the end of the tunnel.



This is me today... 5 months after my third baby...full of joy, and THRIVING everyday instead of merely just surviving.

These past 5 months have been night and day difference than the time after my first and second babies.

What's different???

I'm not depressed, I don't gorge myself on junk food anymore, I love and relish any moment I have with my baby and my kids, breastfeeding is going beautifully, I'm actually losing weight, I do things that feed MY soul, and I'm enJOYing life! Every moment!!!

Want to know what changed? How have I achieved this??

Well, there are several things. The biggest things have been that I'm actually taking care of myself. I've improved my health, worked on some things personally, and I've found ways to live in the present. So keep reading my blog to find out the different ways HOW I've achieved Postpartum Joy.

Postpartum does NOT have to mean fat and depressed. Come, join with me as I record my journey of enjoying motherhood everyday.