A denarius for your work...

When I began this blog, I inteded for it to be about my weight loss journey. Well, only 15 pounds to go and I feel like I haven't done much to lose it. I'm going to change in what I blog about a bit and the way I blog. It will still be about my thoughts on weight loss, healthy living, and exercise, but in a slightly different way.

Today I was reading in the Bible of the story of the workers in the vinyard who recieved a denarias for a days work. In Mathew 20:1-16, a man hires helpers to work in his vinyard. He hires them at different times through out the day, but at the end of the day pays them all the same. Naturally, the workers who worked all day complained that it was unfair that they recieve the same payment as those who worked only a few hours.

Weight loss and physical appearance is a lot like this. Today when I read this story it reminded me of humans and our physical appearance. Some people work hard, eat right, and still have an extra 10 pounds hanging around. While others pig out on burgers, pizza, and ice cream, and don't gain an ounce. Its all in the way God made our bodies. Is it 'fair'? Not necessarily, but is it the appearance that really matters or a healthy body. Who benifits more in the end? The person pigging out and not exercising, or the one who is doing what is best for their temple?

I have always felt like the person who 'worked all day'. I have always carried a little extra in my love handles even when I was 80 pounds soaking wet (this would have been in junior high mind you)! Until the last 3 months, I have always had to work hard for every pound I loss or muscle mass I gained. Its the way I am built. As I have enjoyed my ability to eat things like pizza and burgers and still see the scale go down, I must ask myself, is this really my goal, just a number on a scale? I have 15 to go to be where I was when I found out about my Claytie, and 20 to get to where I would really like to be. If and when I get there, will I be satisfied? Odds are probably not. My goal should be to have a healthy body, not a skinny one. Where at the end of the day when I recieve my denarius I can do so with pride knowing that I did my best to keep my temple healthy.

While I may work all day, and other girls I know only work from the 11th hour on for a healthy body, it is the end result that counts. We will both get paid for our work. Life isn't about being fair, and definately not when it comes to our bodies! If it was fair I would look like Hiedi Klum!

There are my random thoughts for the day, and a look into the way my mind works. (Scary!)






Please note: I realise in this parable Jesus is refering to the fact that when the Father call us home the ones who recieved the Lord at the eleventh hour will be first and recieve His grace, just the same as the ones who worked and sacraficed for Him. That is what I love about the Bible. It is the LIVING word. Its meanings can apply to many situations and mean different things to different people. This is what the Holy Spirit revealed to me today through this parable.

Getting there....

I reached my goal for August!!! I am excited, and it is such a relief.

I loved the Jamie Eason diet, but it wasn't realistic for my lifestyle. As long as I am still losing, I will continue to just count calories. I didn't count calories on vacation and came home weighing the same, and the next day dropped two pounds! Yay!

I did learn some very healthy recipes while eating clean! I will continue to eat egg white omelets, and pancakes made from egg whites and oatmeal!! Yum! I also really loved using Almond milk instead of regular milk. I now use it in my coffee, protein shakes, and cereal. The best part, its only 40 calories for 8 oz!!!!

I stopped lifting and I am just running for now. It was just to much on my body! My little man deserves a mommy who isn't exhausted all the time! If I have to chose, I will chose running every time!!!

I have 15 lbs to reach my goal for Christmas. I want to be the same weight at Christmas as I was at my wedding in 2010.

Just to give you an idea of what I am doing, here is a typical day for me for food.

Breakfast:

A Banana
Bowl of cereal
Egg white omelet
or protein shake

Lunch:
A sandwich
or left overs

Supper:
A little bit of anything and everything, tonight I am making a chicken dish I found on pinterest, last night I made roast. I have also made taco soup, grilled pork chops, and had Rosa's fijitas recently.

Snack:
Protein shake or
Banana

As you can see I am not eating the healthiest, but I am working on portion control. Did you know you are full after just one serving if you wait awhile! Crazy, I know! (Dripping in sarcasm!)

Here are my pictures for today. I was shocked when I compared the ones I took at 6 weeks PP compared to these at 9 weeks PP. I feel so chunky, but I look so much better than I did!


If you want to see an update on my Claytie Bug here is the link to my other blog!
http://calebandholleyclifton.blogspot.com/

A New Plan...

So I was counting calories.... and I was STARVING!!! Miserable! Hungry! I needed food!!! It just wasn't working for me. This weekend I really hit rock bottom and had NO energy. Now part of that could have been because my Claytie Bug was sick this last week and nursing every hour or so during the day because of a soar throat (poor guy).

Well, yesterday being Sunday I didn't have a list of chores, I just enjoyed. Clayton took a long afternoon nap, so I finally read some of the blogs I had pinned on pinterest.  Coincidentally (or not so...), every single one that was a mom losing the baby weight had ate the same diet. Now, sometimes the good Lord has to paint a neon sign for me to get it, but not then, I took the hint.

They all fallowed the 'eating clean' plan of Jamie Eason's. I read it over and it seemed doable! Eat every 3 hours that you are awake, and eat all natural foods. No processed, full of preservatives junk. To me it made a whole lot of since! This is food like the good Lord intended it to be. I never would have considered myself a sugar addict, but guess what, I am. This plan only contains the sugar that comes naturally in fruit, and by 2:00 today I was craving some sugar! I made some cookies from a recipe on pinterest that contained bananas, applesauce, rolled oats, and almond milk. They are really good and totally curbed my craving. I also made some Kale chips for lunch tomorrow! MMmmm!!! I get to even eat bread (well Ezekiel bread, but it still can be made into toast and a sandwich!). I'm going to try it out for one full month and see how it goes. Today has gone really well!!! I haven't been hungry all day!!!!! Woo Hoo!!! I hope the next month goes well and the weight falls off.

So I will give this a chance to actually work I will not weigh myself for the next 2 weeks. I weighed myself this morning and I am at 150lbs. Yikes! That makes my BMI in the 'overweight' range! Not cool! The good news is I am 40lbs down and only 25 to go. I will get there, 9 months on, 9 months off. We will see how much I lose on this.

My workouts are going to be the same. Jamie doesn't recommend much cardio, but its either my morning run/walk, or a therapist, and running is cheaper. For instance, after getting up 4 times last night with Clayton, him screaming from 6:00 until 7:30, not only was he in tears, but I was too. Out the door we went. He fell asleep, and was a happy baby when we returned. By the time we got back, I had figured out what had caused the waking up, what had caused the crying, planned my day, figured out what I was cooking for supper, and had time for prayer. Now tell me where else so much can be accomplished in a mere 30 minutes. I am keeping my run! I am at week 3 of the couch to 5K. It seems to easy, but I know its important to take it slow. I am going to start the weight lifting program with my hubby tomorrow. On Tuesday last week we lifted, but I didn't do anything but hold a sick baby the rest of the week.

There it is folks, my update on losing the baby weight. Here are my pictures from this week. I am looking better, but I still have that 'fat girl' look. Oh well, its only been 6 weeks!

Quote for the week....

I am FREEEEEE!!!

Today was my doctors appoinment. I am free to do what I want. I am human again!!! I no longer have to ask someone else's permission for what I can do with my own body.

I started a weight lifting program today. I am starting really light, just to get back in the groove. My legs and arms are pretty sturdy, but my core is terrible. I guess that is to be expected when your abs have been stretched to the max! It feels good to be DOING something towards my weight loss.

I am down 38 lbs now. I would like to lose 32 more, but 27 will get me to pre-baby weight. I am on myfitnesspal with a great group of girls who are encouraging!

My plan now is, keep counting calories on myfitnesspal, stay between 1000 calories and 1500 calories a day. Do the couch to 5K program on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Lift weights Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and rest on Sunday. Of course I will be riding Roanie

Well, my computer is being dumb and not letting me upload my picture for today. 

I'll try tomorrow! 

1 Month Post Partum

Here I am a month out from being pregnant. According to the scale the weight is falling off. My mirror isn't so kind. I'm down exactly 34 lbs which leaves me 31 to lose still. At our wedding I weighed 130ish, so I only have 20 to go to get there. I want to be down to 130 by Christmas, and then back to 120 by March. I hear that last 10 pounds is the hardest to lose while you are breast feeding so I may have to get extreme to lose that (by the extreme I mean crazy exercise).

As far as what I am doing to lose the weight, I am still walking each day. As far as eating, I am trying to eat when I am hungry and make smart choices. I'm recording my calories about every 5th day or so just to see how I am doing calorie wise. I usually stay under the 1800 calories they say to eat for good milk production, but it isn't effecting my supply at all.

A typical day for food for me is...

Breakfast: 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 2 Tbsp of Peanut butter and 1/4 cup of blueberries.  OR 2 Eggs cooked in a nonstick pan sprayed with olive oil and a bowl of fiber one cereal.

Lunch: anything I can grab! Haha! Usually left overs or tuna. Sometimes its a banana and peanut butter, sometimes a tortilla and some meat left over from a meal, anything easy and handy.

Snack: Fruit- bananas, peaches, apples, strawberries, etc.

Supper: I eat smart portions of what I cook for my Hubby. Things like hamburgers, mexican casserole, taco soup, smoked pork loin, enchiladas.

It isn't the healthiest diet ever, but as we get more and more on a schedule I am able to eat better and better.

11 more days until I am released to exercise! I can't wait!!

This is me on our Honeymoon in 2010. I weighed between 130-135 in this picture. If I get back to this weight I can tolerate myself. I want to be here by Christmas. 

This is me last summer when I weighed 120. This is where I am happiest with my body! 

The pictures on the left are taken week one. The ones on the right were taken today at 1 month post partum. Looking at these side by side I realize I have lost more weight than I realize. It is just so fare from where I want to be!
They say patience is a virtue but it is so hard. I just have to keep saying,

9 months on 9 months off!

I don't like the picture of her, I'll never get those abs, but I do like the saying!!!

Exhausting Week = Stalling Scale

I  am not posting until today because last week my little man hit his 3 week growth spurt. After nursing him every hour to hour and a half, I got no sleep. Then I got sick, ran a fever, and ended up at the doctors office! A weekend of napping every time little man did and a few anti-biotics later I am feeling much better.

I didn't walk all last week, and barely had time to eat. When I did it wasn't healthy, basically just whatever I could grab. My weight loss stalled. I got down to 159.2 and stayed there until this morning when I was down another pound.

Now that my happy baby is back on a better schedule I am eating better again. I got in a 2 mile walk this morning! I did order a BOB last week and I can't wait to take little man for a walk in it! They say he should be able to sleep in it since it is so smooth. It should get here Wednesday. I'm so excited!

I also joined back up with My Food Diary. I am not logging my calories everyday, but some just to get a gage of where I am at. So far I have done pretty well.

Two more weeks and I can start really working out. I will start the Couch to 5K plan immediately. I don't know when for sure I will start the class. Depends on little man taking a bottle. He is refusing right now so I am kind of tied to him. Until then my sweet hubby has said he will help me find an easy weight lifting plan.

Here are my pictures for this week. I look like a fat girl. My husband and mom keep telling me relax, its only been 3 and a half weeks. I tried on jeans the other day though, I bought a pair to get me by. They were double the size of my 'fat girl jeans' before pregnancy!!!

Here is my pictures for the week...

OH My muffin top!!! This view is the worse!

You can tell how much the swelling has gone down though! Most all my shoes and rings fit now! At the end of this week I want to do comparison pictures of the last month. 

If I have any advice for this week, it is don't stress when the scale doesn't move if your sick. Your body often holds on to water weight more if you are ill, just as mine did. 

Who its all for! My growing boy who is now in 3month clothes!!!

This works for me...

THEY FIT....Almost

One of the things that bothered me the most while being pregnant and swollen like a balloon was that since the end of February I couldn't wear my wedding rings. That's right, not only do I look like a high school kid, the one sign that shows the world that I am in fact a mature adult, I had to wear on a necklace. This morning I tried my rings on. They went all the way on!!!! I am so excited, now I didn't keep them on because I know in this west Texas heat that I will swell some through out the day. I was so happy I thought I might cry, but instead I just did a happy dance around the house (well, in my current size I would say that the happy dance looked more like a buffalo walking through a prairie dog town, but hey you get the idea).

I also tried on some of my heels this morning. They fit! A little snug still, but hey, I'm getting there. These little goals make me realize I am getting somewhere. 

As of yesterday morning I was down 27 lbs at exactly 2 weeks post partum. I have a long way to go before I get to where I want to be number wise, but I am almost half way there. Now, as far as appearance, I am light years from where I want to be. Imagine where I want to be is the sun and I am on the former planet known as Pluto. 

I can't wait to have a waist again. I really hope my ribs go back some. 

My belly looks pretty good for only two weeks I think, its the fat on my back that I strategically hid with my arms that I am not a fan of! 

So what am I doing to help me get to the place I want to be. Well, I would be lying if I said I was eating perfectly, because I'm just not. For now I am just making wise choices and trying to practice stopping when I am full (note: I said trying!). I am walking daily, yesterday thanks to our dear friend the west Texas wind I had to walk on the dreadmill! Ugh! On my walks I can't wait to run. I have to fight the urge to break into a run. I miss it so. 

Everyday I tell myself, 9 months on, 9 months off. Make today a day I would be proud of if I wrote my food choices down! 

Well, Little Man is waking up from his nap, snack time! I must be off! 

One week Post Partum

Its hard to believe that just a week ago I was laying in a hospital bed with an IV full of pitocin pumping into me preparing my body to meet my little boy. Here I am a week later a new woman! I have a precious baby boy, and a few extra pounds to show for it!

Here I am the last week of pregnancy, up 65 pounds, and waddling around.

Here I am today. Exactly 7 days later. 

I have lost 20 lbs so far. I still have a lot of swelling, and it is improving with each and every day. Yesterday I was able to put on tennis shoes that I haven't been able to wear since early March! I now have ankles! Still waiting for the day I can put my wedding rings on though. 

There is still a long journey to having a fit and healthy post baby body, but I am really encouraged by this first week. I realize the weight loss will slow, maybe even stop, in the weeks to fallow, but for now I enjoy stepping on the scale each day and seeing the number get lower and lower. 

What I am eating for weight loss...

For now I am just eating smart. Whole grain carbs, lean meats, and portion control. I eat when I am hungry, because breast feeding does make you starve. I make smart choices though in my snacks, apples, bananas, peaches, cantaloupe. I'm not going super crazy with my dieting just eating what is made (My mom was here cooking and cleaning until yesterday), but watching how much and skipping some dishes. For example, we had hamburgers the other night, I had half of one (on whole wheat bun of course), instead of the whole one that I would have during pregnancy. I did splurge on my Momma's homemade fries, but I kept the portion under control. I am avoiding extra's like cheese, butter, and sour cream, etc. I will eat healthier and healthier as I have the energy to fix more things. For now, I cook what is simple and eat smart from that. 

Exercise...

Until I am released for full exercise at 6 weeks post partum, I can walk. Each evening my sweet husband and I take our little man for a stroll. We started at a quarter of a mile last week and by last night we are up to a mile. I also make 100 trips up and down our stairs each day because our nursery is upstairs. It is so hard sometimes not to lace up my shoes and go for a run. I am being careful not to over do though! 

Who it is all for...

One week old and 'chillin in his crib'.

Me and my little man! 

I'm so happy to have my boy here and be working to get my body back! I get frustrated when things don't fit, but I just remind myself that I am only a week post partum. It will get there! 

I will, I can, a woman with a plan...

About Me:
I'm Holley and I am 38 weeks 5 days pregnant and about to have my first child! Before pregnancy I was a healthy body weight, and ran around 20-30 miles a week. I was training for a half marathon when I found out I was pregnant and had to stop training. I am 5'3" and started pregnancy at 123 pounds. I would have liked to lost 5-8 pounds from that, but over all I was happy with my weight and body. I gained 5 pounds of water weight in the first month of pregnancy (this is before I even knew I was pregnant, I gained while eating a 1500 net/cal diet and keeping up with my running program). According to my Dr.'s office I started at 127. When adding up how much I have gained during pregnancy I count by their scales! I am now up to 190. Don't fall over, yes that is 63 pounds. I am not proud of my weight gain. In my defence I have had A LOT of swelling.

The last picture of me before pregnancy...

This is at my beautiful sister's homecoming. I miss those jeans! It will be a while before they fit again!!

The week before finding out I was pregnant. I had gained the 5pounds here and could not figure out why!

At the end of my first tri-mester I gained 10 pounds total. This is through my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Every year I gain about 5 pounds at this time of year, so I wasn't surprised (January I always work really hard and lose the weight, but of course this January was different). I continued to gain around 1.5-2 pounds a week in my second trimester until my 25 week appoinment.

 

The day of my 21 week appoinment. Up 20 pounds.

I hadn't weighed myself since my last appointment at 21 weeks. At this appointment my weight jumped up 15 pounds in one month! I cried. My doctor was very reassuring and encouraged me not to panic. He said the majority of it is swelling. I new some of it was swelling as my rings no longer fit, and most shoes didn't either. SOME of it was my fault. I struggled with Hypoglycemia since I was 11 and have never been able to eat sweets without a full meal, so I had rarely ate sweets at all. Well, pregnancy levelled my sugar level, and I was now able to have unlimited sweets without a headache or a sugar rise and drop. I enjoyed that....

A day or two before my 25 week appoinment. This was the last week I wore my rings. I now have them on a necklace and can't wait to get them on my hand again!



 This is me today at 38 weeks 5 days and 190 pounds.

I have one pair of shoes that fit!

After that I continued gaining around 2 pounds a week, sometimes 3 depending on the heat. I cleaned my diet up some, and focused on walking (now my only exercise other than cleaning house), but the damage was done. I am now like a walking water balloon. I know that the majority of my weight gain is water. I am being tested for pre-eclempsia again tomorrow and have dealt with hypertension the last month of pregnancy. Since week 37 my weight has stabalized and even gone down on some of the cooler days we had last week.

Some of that 63 pound gain is me, and some is just how my body responds to pregnancy. At any rate the weight will GO! I WILL get my healthy body back! I CAN do it!! I am blessed to have an amazingly supportive husband! I will also be a stay at home mom, and can make fitness and health a top priority (after caring for my precious boy of course)!

One thing that pregnancy has taught me is the importance of a healthy body. I LOVE to run and pre-pregnancy was training for a half. Before pregnancy I focused more on weight, running times, and running distances. In the last nine months I have learned that over all health and just being happy with my body is more important than a number on a scale or stopwatch. I will get back to training for my half, and I WILL run one before the next baby (which at almost 39weeks pregnant I am saying will be YEARS from now! haha). Next week at the latest I will deliver my little boy and start the road to recovery and weight loss. Now, I love to plan. I believe everyone who wants to lose weight, get fit, or do anything physical needs attainable goals and a plan to get there or you will never succeed.

My Exercise Plan

I realize I won't be able to do a whole lot for the first 6 weeks. I plan on walking as soon as my body will let me. I may just start with walking to the end of the driveway and back, increasing as I go along. As soon as my Dr. gives me the go ahead to work out I plan on starting the couch to 5K program. This is an easy program that will help build me up to running again and get my cardio in. Here is the couch to 5k program. I used this back in 2010 when I started getting serious about running again and losing those college pounds.

My friend Andrea, who has recently lost some weight and is looking amazing, wants me to do a fit camp with her. I think this is a great idea. Having some one guide me those few months back to working out will help me not over do. Plus, having a friend to do it all with will give me the encouragment that I need.

The fit camp is a 6 week camp (I think), and after that the real work will begin. I want to do the Insanity work outs. I have talked to a lot of moms with blogs and online who have used this to lose the baby weight and it has done wonders for them. I will consider Insanity a 'cardio' and probably supplement it for the running for a while. It is a 60 day program.

After that 60 days hopefully alot of the weight will have gone. I am sure I will still have some to go though! This is where my program that I will use until time to train for a race (I won't train for a race over a 5k until my boy is around 9 months). I will run anywhere from 10-15 miles a week (this will be mostly for fun/stress relief), I will also still use some of the Insanity workouts for cardio (as well as a few other DVD's I have, just so I get it in with a baby to care for). I will also begin doing weight training. This is something I have never focused on before, but plan to really focus on now. Caleb (my husband) has a plan that he said should work for women as well, and I have some time between now and then to set up a good weight training program. I will probably do weight training 3-4 days a week and cardio 4-5 days a week, working around a baby schedule.

My Healthy Eating Plan

As soon as Clayton is out of my tummy and in my arms, I will start improving my diet. Carbs will be out unless they are whole grain. Sweets will be gone unless its a VERY special occasion, and even then in small portions. I will have protien with every meal, but no more than a fist size (to bad I can't use my swollen hand size now! Haha!). Veggies and fruits will be unlimited amount and make up the majority of my diet. I plan to focus on my meals and add in 2-3 snacks a day, counting in for those extra calories burned via breastfeeding. I am thinking my normal meal day will look like this:

Breakfast:

Whole Grain Oatmeal with blue berries and peanut butter. A banana or an apple.
or
1 whole egg and egg white spinach and turkey bacon omlett. With a banana, apple, or orange. I may even try to start liking grapfruit.

Snack 1:
Carrots sticks, celery, broccolli (if I can while breast feeding), cauliflower, or any veggie

Lunch:

Fish, chicken, or turkey, with veggies of some sort. A fruit for "desert". Yummy watermelon, cantelope, or peaches!

Snack 2:
Frozen Yogurt treats (pinterest recipes), smoothie with yogurt, celery and peanut butter, almonds,
cashews or other nuts (basically trying to get in protien).

Extra: After a workout I will have 8oz of chocolate milk.
Supper:
I will have whatever beef I cook for Caleb (a healthy verision of course), and a veggie and/or fruit. Portion control is key here. I may also make some whole-wheat pastas and other 'normal' foods with a healthy twist.

Snack 3:
Again focusing on getting a good protien.

If at any time day or night I get a ravenous appetite, I will eat a fruit or veggie. I want to try to do this without counting calories. Hopefully it will work, but if my weight loss stalls I will start counting again (I have counted calories for the last 2 years up until I got pregnant).

 Why I am blogging:

I am blogging my pregnancy weight loss journey for accountability and hopefully one day for encouragement for others. As scary as it is for me to post my weight right now, I know how alone I felt when I topped over 40-45 pounds of weight gain during pregnancy. I want other women to know that your not alone if you gain more than the 'reccommended' weight. I also hope, months from now, that I can be an inspiration for others. Plus, if I am blogging my loss, I will think twice before eating that mac & cheese or skipping that workout.

What I will be blogging:

I will blog my progress of course. Tips, and things that helps me. Quotes and motivational things that drive me. As well as healthy recipes and workouts that I do.

My ultimate goal:

To have a healthy body. I want to be at a healthy weight. I would like to be at least back to 125 in 9 months. Overall I just want to be a good example of health and fitness for my son!

If you decide to join me on this journey. Welcome! This won't be an overnight thing, but an ongoing journey. I probably will not post for the next few weeks as I will be a little busy. I am being induced on the 21st of June. I will not weigh myself until two weeks after my boy is born to give my body time to start losing the swelling. My first weight loss blog will probably be around then. I wanted to do this blog while I had the time (I have plenty of time right now as I am on bedrest).