How to lose five pounds in four days:

1. Get sick. Preferably by taking care of your sick kiddo for a few days in a row.

2. While taking care of your sick kiddo, have him bounce back as though he has fully recovered and it’s okay to go to the soccer game. Where it downpours rain and sleet. And then his sickness comes raging back.

3. Have the sickness overrun your family, they are too sick to eat so little food is cooked, everyone just snacks, if they can even swallow.

4. Drink lots of water because you are nursing your baby and have to at least attempt to keep the breastmilk supply up.

5. Eat at least one meal a day, however small it is.

6. Jump on the scale on the morning of day 4 – BAM 5 pounds gone!

7. In the afternoon of day 4 realize you are almost recovered. What adds to this realization is your stomach growling LOUDLY multiple times in an hour. Eat whatever is around because hey, you just lost five pounds!

*Obviously none of this is recommended – however, it is what I went through this past week!

photo credit: teachingsagittarian

A disappointing thing to report – over the past two weeks I’ve gained three and a half pounds. But I’m not letting that get me down!

I’m back to working out and I’ve set some new goals:

* work out every day for the month of April (so far, so good!)

* no snacking after 8PM – not really that hard for me actually, but I’ve slipped up more then I like lately

* pay closer attention to my water intake – usually I do great at drinking enough water, and with nursing as well this is important for me to get back on track with

I look forward to checking in next week with a weight LOSS!

How did you do for the week?

Yay I gained no weight! But I also lost no weight!

I’ll take that as a win.

Mom and I restarted south beach, stage one, on Monday. I just felt off since going to stage two. I’m not sure if it was the reintroduction of bread or that I had more sugar or what, but I didn’t feel right. I felt fat (probably more like bloated) and uncomfortable.

After just one day, basically by Monday evening, I felt fine! Maybe it was eating different food for that day, maybe it was drinking a lot of water, maybe it was just psychological. Whatever it was, I’ll take it!

Adding to the mix of not being able to exercise nearly as much as I want, my allergies have kicked in. By late afternoon my voice is starting to be gone, my throat hurts and I’m coughing more. I started taking my medicine but it’s still bothering me. It feels like I’m losing my voice – which I’m sure my kids are slightly happy about (ha!) – but by morning I’m fine again.

I’m looking forward to a weight loss next week!

I’m not sure of my weight loss over the past week.

Because I’m not getting on the scale.

Stage one of South Beach was awesome! Mom and I both did great. And then stage two started and after just one day it felt crazy and out of control. And even though I was adding more food, or rather a wider variety not a greater quantity, I felt like I was starving. I just kept eating and eating! It was not fun for me.

Sunday we had an Oscars party and invited friends over. We made some really great tasting foods:

~ figs stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with prosciutto – this may sound odd, but seriously – SO good! I wasn’t sure how a fig would taste – until Mom said “you like fig newtons right?” and yep, I do. We have leftovers and will probably make more this weekend.

photo credit: professor evil
(this pic shows bacon, which looks just as good!)

~ baby pigs in a blanket – which were smokies wrapped with crescent bread. Super easy to do, fantastic to eat.

~ stuffed mushrooms – simply cheese mixed with the mushroom stems chopped up

~ beans and sausage in the crockpot – this was the main dish we found in a “Casseroles, Slow Cooker & Soups” magazine.

~ cornbread – followed the recipe on the back of the box!

We also had no-fat brownies (bought at Trader Joe’s!) – and if these were the only brownies I would be allowed for the rest of my life, I would be completely okay with that. They were gooey and delicious and really, it’s amazing they are non-fat – and chocolate covered strawberries.

Mom and I went for a quick walk so we wouldn’t feel bad eating a few of the snacks that evening, but Monday I still felt like I had been out of control. I felt like I ate too much, didn’t drink enough water, it just wasn’t fun. I blamed the food I ate, the types of food I ate considering I hadn’t been eating anything like it for so long.

So we sort of started over with stage one. Sort of because we did lose weight, but for whatever reason, going to stage two was crazy for us, but not eating any bread at all probably would have drove us just as crazy.

Thus I’m not sure of my weight and I’m not getting on the scale until next Wednesday. Then it will be two weeks from my last scale check. The new clothes I bought are not tight, my jeans are still fitting (or actually, they are kinda loose!) and I’m still drinking lots of water. It was the out of control feeling that brought me to being okay not jumping on the scale. Sure I care about the number, but I care more about how clothes fit. I still have a gift card my Dad gave me for Christmas to buy new clothes with!

I really don’t think I gained anything, so I’m going to say I stayed the same. Next week I’ll have a number to report. How’s your weight loss going?

Yesterday was my weigh in after Stage 1 on South Beach. I didn’t weigh myself when we started, so I am going off of what I weighed after I came home from the hospital with JW.

I lost 7 pounds!

photo credit: jaysalikin

Today started stage 2. And today I was starving! Tonight we are having a cookout on the beach, bonfire and all. Maybe being outside with everyone will help curb whatever pretend starving I have going on. I’m not hungry, I eat enough to be full, so I think it’s the whole now I can have some carbs subconsciously getting to me! That has to be it.

photo credit: theloushe

It is the seemingly little things that I’ve noticed since I’ve lost weight. It’s easier to cross my legs now – what an odd thing to realize! My Mom said I look taller – hey I’ll take that, I’m pretty short! I am getting my hourglass curve back – okay that’s definitely not a little thing, that was the first thing I noticed.

My face is skinnier, my cheekbones are definied again! You can see my dimples when I smile. I don’t have a double chin anymore!

According to the Wii Fit – from January 09 until now I’ve lost 23 pounds. I know I was heavier, probably 7-8 pounds heavier, so wow, 30 pounds gone! AND a baby.

That’s the best part to point out – I’ve lost weight *and* I have a baby. How cool.

Tonight ends mine and Mom’s stage one of South Beach – we can add carbs! Whole wheat carbs, but I’m okay with that. I am kind of amazed that I’m not craving anything. A milky way sounds really good right now, but I don’t feel like I have to have it. A bun with a cheese burger would be good too, but again, I don’t need to have it.

From having the baby to last week I lost four pounds – I know I’ve lost two more, but I’m not weighing myself until tomorrow morning.

I’m not sure when I found out about WiiFit Moms but I know it was first on twitter – follow them at @wiimoms. I took more time today to look into the site so I could join the party they are hosting!

I do have the WiiFit (would you have answers for me?) and have yet to open it but I am going to soon. My husband is on vacation right now and any video game playing is taken over by him, so I may have to wait til he goes back to work. I plan on doing something on the WiiFit every day though, once I am able.

The Wii Fit Mommies has a whole network and fun things for you to do. You can join the forum and also participate in the first wiifit moms party which is tomorrow night at 8 eastern time on twitter. I’ve seen various parties happening on twitter using hashtags – my super simple explanation for hashtags is using the number/pound sign # with a word. In the case of the party for wiimoms the hashtag is going to be #wiimoms – so it’s easy to join, just post a tweet with the hashtag at the end! You can then find others posting on that same topic. There are also prizes you can win so check it out before the party!

Have you joined a support group online? Do you have an in person support group to help reach your fitness, health and weight loss goals? I always work better by working out with someone and hopefully online support will work just as well!

Have you started thinking about your resolutions or goals for 2009? I hope so we are just under a day away from the start of the year!

photo credit: Ikhlasul Amal

I wanted to set different goals for myself for the next year, small ones that can be easily met and then move on to the next goal. I’m sure I’ll be rewriting my list as time goes on but I really want to make this next year a year of getting and staying healthy and losing weight. I’m disappointed that I gained back the weight that I worked so hard to lose, I haven’t gained any of the five pounds I lost during December back, but wish I lost more then I did.

Here’s how I feel – I was so happy about losing twenty pounds and just about quadrupling my wardrobe because of it being in storage when Chris was in his various schools. Now since I gained that weight back (I’m up five pounds since we moved here) I don’t feel comfortable wearing all the clothes that I have. Which is not fun to have a closet full of clothes and not want to wear any of them!

So my first goal – get back to the weight I was when I left Montana at the end of June. I am going to do this by watching what I eat and exercising daily. I want to follow the “Body for Life” program and hope that I can, however I’m not going to hold myself to this (other then not eating a bunch of junk food!). I don’t foresee that I will not follow the program, but we are going back to meal/menu planning so we’ll see how I do.

Yesterday was the first day I went back to working out in a couple of weeks – and afterward I felt great! However, once I got home I felt like I wanted to eat all day. It felt like no matter what I ate, I was still hungry. But I had a strange headache most of the day so maybe that contributed to feeling hungry? I’m not sure. I am going to work out again this morning andmay not eat that great because we are planning on appetizers and hanging out with friends tonight.

What is your first fitness goal for 2009? Let’s do this together!

• First goal – lose five pounds.
• Second goal – lose 15 pounds (on top of the five, so 20 total)
• I want to be able to wear all the clothes I have in my closet which are two sizes below what I’m wearing now. I can do this!

Monday started week three of the Body for Life program that my friend and I are following. Only, really it should be like week two. Last Tuesday I hurt my back and didn’t work out for five days. I’ve hurt my back this way before and the result is always the same – I have a heck of a time walking, much less doing anything else. I hurt it Tuesday morning during that days workout and spent that day and most of the next day in bed or stretching. It was a rough couple of days!

Wednesday night was a Christmas party for Chris’ job and my friend and I agreed that night would be our cheater night and then we would cheat a little again on Sunday. So I ate mashed potatoes that night and she had a roll – we live on the edge! The Christmas party was SO much fun! We really had a great time hanging out with co-workers and friends and are already trying to plan another party for the springtime.

Sunday we cheated due to throwing a surprise party for a friend! It was great considering we had just a few hours to throw everything together. I made a cake, we had appetizers and food and even a handmade gift by the time he arrived. He was embarrassed but happy and is teased that he is a man now since he is 25 years old.

My friend is gone for the Christmas break and I admit it’s hard doing this alone! Yesterday was our 8th anniversary so we went to dinner – where I ate cheese fries! I felt bad after doing so! I worked out at the house and am planning on hitting the treadmill today. It’s raining right now or I’d just take the kids, their scooters and my iPod out for a walk! Maybe the weather will clear up in a bit.

Anyone else think I’m crazy trying to lose weight aroud the holidays? I haven’t made cookies or anything like I usually do. I am going to try to make cookies starting today so it will be a test of the willpower. Maybe I’ll just jump back on the scale as I like seeing the few pounds I lost gone.

We are done with week one following the Body for Life program!

One big difference with this plan and others I’ve followed in the past – getting used to the eating. What I mean is this – really, we need to get a lot of food during the day. Every plan I’ve ever tried I end up surprised at how much food one needs to consume. I thought this was going to make me lose weight, what’s up with the eating of everything in the kitchen! Of course then we find that we do lose weight on these plans.

The first couple of days I was stuffed. I was not hungry when it came time to eat again, but I did anyway. By Saturday I didn’t feel like I was starving when the few hours passed, but I knew a few hours had passed because I was slightly hungry. Not even hungry, I just knew it was time to eat again!

I did cheat once – I had one piece of chocolate with caramel inside. I wasn’t craving it but I was annoyed that I had to stick to the food plan, so I ate it. Afterward I realized that was not the smartest choice. I didn’t feel good that I ate it – I mean, I wasn’t feeling that “ohhhh chocolate….” feeling that we sometimes get. But doing it once made me realize I’m won’t have a hard time sticking to this.

The workouts were tough. Focusing on one thing each day almost made it harder! My arms were sore the day after focusing on upper body, legs after cardio and then legs still after lower body. But yesterday was a cardio day and I felt really good.

I try to not obsess on the numbers but I feel skinnier. And according to that pesky scale I lost four pounds. How awesome is that!

My friend and I are both ordering the Eating For Life book because it is full of recipes and the Body for Life website recipe search function isn’t that great.

Today is our cheat day! I had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast and then pizza for lunch. I’m not even hungry. I mean I figured I’d want to eat junk food and chips and chocolate – and I don’t. Another friend said that was good but man, I really wanted to cheat today!

Tomorrow starts week two. Here’s to a couple more pounds down by this time next week!!