Mamavation Monday--Still losing and loving it!

This past week I was a little disappointed. Since I started C25K the week before, and was super dilligent, I thought I'd be in for an enormous loss. I didn't have quite the loss I expected, but I still managed to lose 1.6 lbs. I was really hoping for 2lbs, but I'm happy with what I achived.

This coming week I'm really hoping for at least 1.2 lbs. I really want to have a loss of 5 lbs since I started "really trying" again. :) It might be hard, because I've been a little lazy with the C25K plan this week (week 2). In fact I haven't really worked out at all. It's been really rainy and dreery here in The Mitten and I just couldn't bring myself to get off the couch--though I have been REALLY GOOD about my eating habits.

But enough about me. It's time for.....

The Mamavation Question Of The Week, Sponsored by New Balance!

How would you brand your health and wellness lifestyle? How do you want others to know you in this area?

I would brand my health and wellness lifestyle as "Workin' It With Baby". My son goes EVERYWHERE with me, we have extenuating "work life" circumstances that rarely ever let me get a break, and at 18 months, he can sometimes be a hindrence to getting a work out in. Particularly, when he doesn't take a nap. So rather than waiting for an opportune window, I've decided that he is just part of my workout.

If I go running, I burn some extra calories by pushing him in the jogging stroller. If I'm doing yoga, he climbs all over me, after awhile it improves your balence. If I'm strength training, he's my 25 lb weight, and the best part is that he thinks it's a game and laughs the entire time. It brightens my day.


Overall, I want others to know me as a mom, who manages to do it all, including getting fit; And that it is possible to be fit and healthy after baby, you just have to make it work for you.

Best wishes for a wonderful week to all!

This post is sponsored by New Balance and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women

Mamavation Monday--Down Another Pound(ish)

I'm not usually one to brag about myself, or even speak highly about myself, but this week I'm really proud of myself.

I've lost another 1.2 lbs this past week.

I can't believe it!

I started working out again this past weekend, but after our move, our basement is still not quite in order. Oh, let's face it, it's still kind of a hell-hole. So my once avid Turboing has taken a backseat this round of weight-loss. That's why I decided to take my workout outside, and started running. Granted, it's starting to get a little chilly, but I'm going to adjust. I hope. Otherwise, I'll be driving across town to my dad's and hopping on the treadmill.

Either way, I downloaded this super cool app, the C25K app, or Couch to 5K. I love it! The first time out, I felt like I was going to die. But I finished and feel stronger every session I do. I put my phone in the cupholder of the jogging stroller (because being a mom means taking your child every where in my instance), and it you start walking for your warm up, and then the phone "dings" and then you run until it "dings" again. It really makes working on intervals easy. I always dreaded having to time myself following the couch to 5k plans in various fitness magazines, but this totally takes the dread out.

Image courtesy of buycheapshoesale.com



I also went and invested in some super new kicks to help my over-pronation. So I'm not dying of achy ankles everyday. Thanks to Running Fit, for fitting me, and showing me what shoes I needed--the FABULOUS Brooks Adrenaline. Aren't those shoes sexy? And they feel wonderful. It's such a change going from a being runner with the wrong shoes, to a runner with the right shoes. I love it.

Anyhoo, I think my goal is going to be to run the 5k in the Detroit Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving. That gives me a little over a month to train. I think that's do-able. Any tips?

Aright, enough jibber jabber about my elation over my new running regime...it's time for...

THE MAMAVATION QUESTION OF THE WEEK!

What parts of your body are you especially proud of right now? What makes you love them?

The parts of my body that I'm expecially proud of right now are my legs and my lungs. My legs always carry me around, and I've thought nothing of them, up until I started running this past week. They are the biggest muscle group in my body, incinerating the most calories during my run, and they are strong enough to carry my big, yet shrinking, behind around. I'm sorry that I've taken them for granted until now.

I'm also proud of my lungs. I smoked from age 13 to 22. I quit when I found out I was pregnant with my little man 28 months ago. I love that my lungs are resilliant. They have forgiven me for the damage that I did to them and they help me to catch my breath to power through the next mile.


"This post is sponsored by Grunt Style and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women. All of my praise for the C25K app, and Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11 is my own, and not associated with Gruntstyle."

Mamavation Monday-How to (or how not) eat out on a diet.

Well, at my WW meeting last week (Thursday) I was told that I lost 1 lb. This week, I maintained though. And I know exactly why.

A smorgesboard of fried food from Max and Ermas.

Let me start by saying that I can count on one hand, hell, half a hand, how many times my husband and I have been out to eat since we had our son almost 19 months ago. Once to Max and Erma's when our son was still small enough that he slept through most of the day (he was asleep in his carrier when we went), and once last thursday night. Yes, we do like our Max and Erma's.

Since we were out to eat, I knew I was going to have a "cheat day" (and what better day to do it--after weigh in), because I refuse to eat salad at a retaurant. I eat "rabbit food" all the time at home, I sure as hell am not going to go out and pay top dollar for it. So I eyeballed the Tomato Mozzarella Chicken Sandwhich

Image courtesy of Max & Ermas

Because it looked like it was just about the healthiest thing on the menu. (There aren't any "healthy cheat symbols" on the menu as far as I could tell. And then I ordered. And this is what came out of my mouth:

Cheese Skewers- Deep Fried Mozzarella cheese cubes with Dijon mustard mayo sauce & marinara.

Tortilla Soup-Our secret recipe chicken cheese soup with a spicy kick, topped with cheddar, Monterey Jack & freshly made tortilla strips.

Crispy Chicken Tender Dinner-With seasoned fries and cole slaw. Served with BBQ sauce. (I got ranch.)

And I ate it. All. Well, 2 of 4 of the cheese skewers, and a cup of soup, not a bowl. But still. I used up all of my Points+ weekly points in one sitting, and about half my day! And then I got sick. REALLY sick. I started having gallbladder pain, and almost an instant bout of IBS. Yowza.

So it's no shock to me why I'm maintaining this week. BUT, the most important thing is that I got right back on track--which I'm pretty sure I've never, ever done. I'm just hoping that I'm back on track enough to at least put a microscopic dent in the scale come Thursday's weigh in. Wish me luck! And I apologize if I made you want to eat crappy food by posting those pics.

Good luck to all in this new campaign!

Mamavation Monday- I got my butt in gear. FINALLY!

Not only am I on time with my post this week, but I'm back on the weight loss wagon.

I dug out my Weight Watchers stuff, and started going to meetings again. And it's really helping. As of Wednesday, I'll be on plan for a week straight with no cheating! I've got my mojo back. So far, I've lost 1lb. But I'm focusing on the small victories. After eating crap for what seems like months on end, one week on plan is a big deal for me. And after weeks of gaining and gaining. 1 lb down is a big deal for me as well. I've just got to keep up the work. So, I'm going to be ever present in my goals, and start thinking about consequences before I put something in my mouth.

Looking forward to a good week, and wishing you all a good week too!