Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Slow Progress

I've been making lots of progress in making good choices to fuel my (and my son's!) body. But I've also not completely gone without treats.

Breakfast was eggs and toast, lunch was turkey wraps with mango/avocado salsa and rice pudding:


Last night I went out with a couple friends and enjoyed a tasting flight of beer (I missed beer!):


I'm walking as much as I can - did 4 miles on Sunday with my little family :) And slowly incorporating more body weight exercises during my day (I'm really looking forward to having my core strength back!).

I'm trending slightly downward with my weight, so that's good- but mostly I see my shape changing as I get active again, my posture improves and I challenge my muscles!

This is definitely a slow process- especially since most of my energies are for my child, now! But I'm making sure to take care of his mom, too :)

Forward progress!

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Consistency!

Though I'm not where I used to be in terms of diet and exercise, I'm being consistent with what I am capable of right now. Getting out for at least a short walk every day, tracking my food daily, making a concerted effort to eat my veggies and staying hydrated.

My steps are getting there (the cold weather is tough - some days I bring Hunter to a store to walk around), but I'll admit to just plain old being exhausted some days. But I am getting something done every day, even if it's just a little, and that's a big step!


My meals are staying consistent too - having my three meals a day, like I described in my previous blog post, and a snack or two as well.


Had haddock on corn tortillas with a side of roasted beets and roasted Brussels sprouts yesterday for dinner. Tonight I am having butternut squash soup with peas, and a black bean burger.

Staying consistent with getting vegetables back into my diet has been really big. Even though I've added grains back to my diet, I am aiming for vegetables to make up the majority of my carbohydrates! They just have a lot more nutrition and fill me up a lot better.

So even though my weight isn't dropping consistently, I'm going to stay consistent with my behaviors. I know that breast-feeding may mean that I'm not going to drop any significant amount of weight until I'm done breast-feeding, but setting up these healthy habits for me, to be a better example for Hunter, to be a healthier mom, is important.


Monday, January 11, 2016

Better Meal Choices

I've been on a pretty good streak of just plain old making better choices - with regards to both food and activity.

This was lunch today:


Lettuce, turkey, cheese and mustard with a fig bar snack (I got these on sale at the co-op, they're made with a really great ingredients and fill me up great!)

Breakfast was organic waffles with peanut butter and cottage cheese on the side.

Dinner will be a veggie/butternut squash soup.

If I eat grains with breakfast, like today, I'll do just veggies and protein for lunch. Some days I do protein/fruit for breakfast and will have bread at lunch. Dinners are getting closer to our old, pre-pregnancy dinners - lots of veggies and protein. Last night's dinner was cod with an almond meal crust, broccoli and roasted sweet potatoes.

Taking in a ton of water, too - breastfeeding seems to completely dehydrate me no matter how much I drink!

Still around 145, but definitely feeling MUCH better now that I'm eating better, less junk, more nutrition, and more well rounded (not 80% carbs like when I was eating poorly!).

Takes effort to not indulge in food as pleasure (especially when I'm stressed with Hunter!) but it's worth it. I feel more energetic, for sure :)


Hunter making his weird face in his bear suit :)


Family walk at the golf course- got in 3 miles here!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Weight, Ramping up activity

Things are progressing - slowly but surely  around here! Hunter is six weeks old officially today. I look back at the pictures of him a month ago, and I see how much he has grown, even though it is hard to see day to day.

And even though he still not sleeping much through the night, things are changing around here. Especially because I'm feeling stronger and more capable as the days go on. It is two more weeks until I am cleared for more activity than just walking. But I had chilled out on even walking too much for a while, because I was certain I had pulled my internal incision by doing a little too much too fast.

But I've been getting out this week! Taking some walks with Hunter and the dog, running some errands, going shopping.



And I have been sticking to tracking my food, though I am obviously eating far more than I need to maintain my weight because I want to keep my milk supply up. And I am making plenty of milk, finally. Hunter was growing so fast for a few weeks, because we struggled so much with breast-feeding in the first three weeks, I think he had a lot of catching up to do!

I lost a pound, now at 145. Not much, but a small downward trend. Lost 3 lbs in 30 days - I think that's a good rate that  won't endanger my supply! But best of all, I can see my old body shape coming back as I get more active. I'm not so horrified by the changes anymore... I have hope I'll get somewhere close to normal by/during summer :)

So, despite sleeplessness and feeling overwhelmed, I've been able to stay on the path to getting back to health and fitness (getting more active, eating better foods and tracking what I eat). Just required a little effort not to reach for the cookies and not to always lay in bed (though I do lay in bed a fair amount, taking care of a newborn is hard!). Little changes add up over time - and all I have energy for right now is little changes!

I pumped milk for tonight - leaving Hunter with Chris and am hitting up a girls' night! Pretty excited for adult times!

Saturday, January 2, 2016

First meal I've cooked in a loooong time

I've been very, very lucky the past many months to have a husband who has cooked dinner for me, first while I was pregnant and writing my dissertation and second while I've been recovering from my csection and feeding a newborn. I haven't cooked anything more than eggs in maybe half a year!

Also the past month, we've been eating food made by friends and family, ranging from turkey soup to a huge lasagna to vegetarian meals. That's been a big help.

Anyway, it worked out that Hunter was well fed and well rested at dinner time and we were making shrimp - my favorite thing to cook! I handed the baby over to Chris in a good mood and got to cooking.

I made garlic butter shrimp tacos on corn tortillas with guacamole and a side of roasted broccoli:


I'm a little rusty but it was fun to get back in the kitchen. Hunter is still making it difficult for me to cook when I'm alone because he doesn't like to be put down most of the time, but hopefully that will change as he gets older :)

As the flow of prepared food slows, it'll be important for us to get back to cooking and food prep if we want to eat well (do not want to rely on takeout or frozen pizzas!). I think we'll definitely simplify from what we had been doing- more frozen veggies, premarinated meats, etc, but preparing the food ourselves has always been important to us! Chris and I love cooking together and always have a lot of fun doing it, so it's good for our bonding too :)

New Year, New Life, New Goals


I definitely am very excited to see what 2016 will bring - I've never had such a life change as having a baby before (and life has changed pretty drastically for me in the past)!

Hunter is 5 1/2 weeks old, showing a little more personality and I know this year is going to see rapid changes for him! And for our little family :)

I don't really have any resolutions for this year, nothing specific anyway. My goals are just to make sure I try my best to be a good parent, to make sure Hunter is happy and healthy, to make sure I am happy and healthy, and my marriage is happy and healthy. All of those things are connected.

I want all three of us to be active, get out in the world, to learn new things, eat nourishing foods, to stay socially engaged, and to fill our spirits with bright and enlivening things. I want to try my best to start our family off on a good foot :)

So what does that mean? That means putting energy into these goals. To make healthy decisions, not lazy ones. As Hunter continues to get older, I can feel my own energy returning, and know I will be rejoining this world shortly (right now, I'm still spending most of my time in bed feeding him!).

I just really look forward to showing him the world this year. I want him to know how beautiful it is!

For myself personally, my resolutions are definitely to get healthy and work on losing a little bit of baby weight, but not to obsess about it! I had got into a really good place last year of maintaining a healthy, trim body without counting calories or being controlling about it. I don't want Hunter to see a mom who has a bad body image or issues with food. So I'm going to work on myself with a loving demeanor- not a self- or body-hating one. It's more important than ever to have a good relationship with my body so that Hunter knows the body is a beautiful and amazing thing that can carry him through this world!