So, um, Hi...

Well this isn't awkward at all.

My last post was about me being 6 months postpartum. Well, I'm now 13 months pp after baby #2!

And you know what sucks? (lol, not really but yes) I haven't lost the baby pounds like I did the first time around! I'm still hanging on to the last ten stubborn pounds that I gained (28 again, just like with dd1). This time I was exclusively bf-ing from the very beginning as well as from months 5-11 I was pumping the same amount of milk for my nephew who was born 3 weeks before dd2. So I blame my body working hard to make all that liquid gold. But now my journey with being a milking cow is almost completely over (we still nurse maybe once a day) and I really, really, REALLY want to be back on the weight loss train.

So let's see, I had another baby. I also went back to work part time. Oh, and we spent nearly a year in a relocation ordeal with my hubby in our new city M-F and me at home holding down the selling this shitty house fort with a 9-16 month old oh and while pregnant and super sick. Good times. Not, lol.

Other than that, ha, same old.

I meant to sign myself up for the Shamrock Shuffle last night before the price increase but I'm an idiot and forgot. I'm also not wanting to jinx myself because last time I did that, I ended up pregnant. LOL. We do want another one but I have decided that I really want to go through pregnancy in a smaller size. I had severe SPD and any movement was excruciating from about 22 weeks on. It was really bad. I'm not sure that it will keep that away (no rhyme or reason as to why some pregnancies have it and some don't) but it can't hurt.

Anyway. Hi. Again.

6 months postpartum

And I am oh so close to having lost 60 lbs in this weight loss goal! Well, technically I've gained and lost 28 pregnancy pounds but that's a technicality :-)

I finally got myself under 200 lbs as well!! When I saw that 1 in front of the number I was elated. I cried. 

Finally. I never want to see that 2 again. Nope, nope, nope. 


I'm holding steady right now at 195-197 most days. It does feel as though my body has reset itself after being pregnant and that also feels amazing. 

Right now I really have to watch myself with sweets. I have been overly indulgent with cookies, cakes, ice cream, etc. And they've been delicious. But alas, they need to be cut. After tomorrow's charity bake sale that is ;-) 

I also need to make sure to get some more longer walks in. I was doing fabulous with that in the month of June but so far in July I haven't. I do wear a pedometer most days and I aim for the recommended 10,000 steps. It's funny that it seems like we walk way more than we actually do. 

Well, the baby is napping and I have some chores to get done but I will leave you with a few pictures to document on here. 

2015 Runs??

I think that today I might sign up for an inaugural run down in Chicago called the Country Sole 10m/4m/1m race. It's June 20th so we will most likely be down there anyway for Father's Day and it's a nice little run along the lakeshore with a country music concert after the race. I'm not super thrilled with the headliner (KB from Sugarland) but it's a new race and it sounds like fun. Plus it is seemingly the only freaking race that is working with my schedule so far this year. Everything else is on weekends that we either already have plans or they are on a weekend before or after already being down in Chicago. Back to back weekend travel is hard to do with just us - now add in the baby and it is *really* tough. Technically this run falls into this same category of B2B due to my SIL's baby shower the weekend prior but since Father's Day is important to be with our dads for us, we can make this exception. I'm sure I will be cursing all the travel when it's actually happening though. 

Other than that, I haven't gone to the gym still. I was able to take the jogger out for two nice walks with baby Bunny. We had a week where it was in the 60s and beautiful. Of course today we woke up with a couple inches of snow on the ground...Gah! Darn you Wisconsin springs! ;)

I'm holding steady at my 50 lbs lost and I don't think I will honestly see much of a change for a while. I noticed that if I don't eat an insane amount of calories my milk supply decreases greatly. I guess it's true about breastfeeding and weight loss, lol. Hey - I will take it!

Now I need to go do some research and find more fun runs to sign up for. I need the motivation!

Why Hello!

Hello dear long lost blog. I bet you thought I forgot all about you, what with this whole "having a baby" situation, huh?

Well I didnt. Far from it. I just haven't really had much time to do any actual working out. 

Baby bunny is doing well. She's actually helping me to lose weight in a few ways. For one, breastfeeding burns calories which is awesome. I mean, you need to get some sort of reward for the nastiness of being covered in milk every day. And the other reason bunny is helping me in the weight loss dept is that she has silent reflux. And a pretty nasty case of it. To help eliminate as much of it as we can (and with the help of Zantac for her) I have to modify my diet. And it suuuuuucks! Like shoot me now, what the ever loving hell am I supposed to eat, shoot me now. No spicy foods, no garlic, no onions, no dairy. Guys, I'm a Mexican living in Wisconsin. What in the hell does that leave me to eat??? I also cut out fast foods bc they cause gas in my own body so I'm sure it doesn't help her. K and I gave it up for Lent too. 

So that leaves me with my big update of the day:

I am officially 50 lbs down now! Technically I am down 50.2+28 from pregnancy. 

That feels freaking amazing to type. I am also so damn close to seeing a 1 in front of my weight. 3.8 messily pounds stand in my way. I can do this. I am hungry for that accomplishment. It needs to happen. 

So...I'm back. I'm trying to get into the swing of things but rest assure I will be getting back in the saddle again. Hope you are all doing well!

Randoms

Want to know one really awesome thing about losing weight before you get pregnant? More specifically, before you become 8-9 months pregnant during the cold weather season in WI? You don't have to go out and buy an expensive maternity coat!

That was my little win this weekend. I knew that my winter coat from last year (ok, actually that is technically this year) had gotten big on me at the end of the season but I broke it out of the closet to wash it in preparation for our first arctic weather plunge this week and it still fit. Score! I don't have a whole heck of a lot of extra belly room in it right now but I do believe it will make it until my due date next month and then I will be in smooth sailing territory after I give birth. 

So far I have only put on 23 lbs. It fluctuates between 20-23. My goal was 20-25 so...I may stay there or might go a little over. Either way, I'm happy with that. 

I am getting the running urge. I am starting to plan out what races I will want to run in for 2015. I highly doubt I will be ready for the Shamrock Shuffle again this year. I need to get a 5k under my belt before I go jumping back into an 8k. I'm sure my lung capacity sucks at the moment. I know I won't be able to do the Disneyland Half in August...because they moved it to Labor Day for 2015! I'm so pissed. I have a close friend getting married that day so we can't miss the wedding. Bummer. I was looking forward to a Cali vacation plus the race. 

Other than that, I have had a wonderful pregnancy so far. I'm 33 weeks now and will miss having bunny in my belly. I feel so fortunate to be here. Pregnancy is the best thing I've ever done :) 

Pregnancy Glow

Hi! I'm 19.5 weeks along today. *Almost* halfway done. Crazy!

I'm up 10lbs and feel great. I had to break down and buy some more maternity clothes. It's funny how much more comfortable they are. Ladies, don't keep squeezing into those tight pants. Buy the dresses, and mat jeans, and skirts. Trust me. 

My MIL and her co-worker keep thinking I've lost weight through this pregnancy. We laugh because it's so not true. It will especially not be true after this weekend because we are going to hit up the Wisconsin State Fair for the first time ever. A few years ago we saw a special on the Travel Channel and I've been dreaming of gorging on fair foods ever since. And naturally since this could very well be my only time going while pregnant, I'm going to indulge. Monday it will be back to gorging on the healthier foods that are a staple in my diet now, lol. I am a fruit monster lately. Bananas, apples, grapes, pluots, clementines, pineapples, melons, etc. Yum!

Other than that, I have been slacking on the regular walks. I did get out with a neighbor for a nice hour long walk this week so that was nice. I seem to do most of my walking in long spurts rather than little bits over multiple days. I think this will be my goal to work on the next few weeks. It's a great anxiety reliever and that is my only downside to pregnancy. 

Here is a bump pic from this last Wednesday. I've been told that I am glowing. I asked if that meant I was sweaty ;) But I think there is something to it. I have honestly never felt happier in my life. I love being pregnant. Absolutely love. I love my bunny bump!!!

Being pregnant after weight loss

You know, I've really been kicking myself for not blogging over here since getting pregnant. It just kind of dawned on me that there are other people who could be on their own quest to get pregnant or who are pregnant and also be on a weight loss (ok, hiatus for some of us) too. I'm far from the only one who is overweight and pregnant.

My main goal this pregnancy is to not balloon up or allow myself to gain back everything I lost. Sure, if I had been 130 lbs to begin with, gaining 40 would be no big deal. Except that was far from the case. I was 214 on the dot when I began our IVF cycle. I was really good with the bloat and the 4 lbs that I did gain from the cycle were minimal in my eyes. As of today, I'm 17 wks, 3 days pregnant and I am at 223.4, so just a hare under 10 lbs gained. At almost half way through this pregnancy, I'm happy with that. Especially since there have been complete and utter train wreck weeks. 

With it being summer, I do my best to never turn on the oven. That tends to limit some of the things I like to cook. At least K is the grill master and he grills some amazing dinners for us. I'm making a personal goal to try to get more veggies into my diet right away. I've been awesome with fruit but veggies have been sorely lacking. The bunny (baby) needs some carrots dangit! ;-)

You know what other goal I made? One that I'm not even sure I'll ever be able to test, lol. For my next pregnancy - and take this with a grain of salt as it took us 6.5 years to get here so who knows if we will have a second - I want to be thin enough to wear normal, cute maternity clothing. There is a huge gap in maternity fashion. I've been lucky to have a few pieces given to me by a friend, including an Old Navy dress I'm wearing today and to also be able to use some of my "fat kid" clothing still. Because of the 40 lb loss, I had a ton of room in many pants and tops. That's a huge bonus. 

So basically, here's my promise - I will try to keep blogging over here and not just on my every day blog. And as soon as I'm cleared after bunny's birth, I will be back on the train again.

Silence Explained

Hi!

No I haven't forgotten about this blog. Nor have I gone on a binge fest and gained back weight.

One of those is sort of true though. 

The Shamrock Shuffle was two days into stims (drugs) for the IVF cycle that my husband and I were undergoing. After that, no exercise was allowed by my RE (reproductive endocrinologist) through the remainder of the cycle. 

On 4/8 we had our embryo retrieval and then we transferred two perfect blasts on 4/13. 7 days later I got a BFP and it was confirmed with beta #1 two days after that! It had been six and a half years of battling infertility and was/is such a crazy reality right now. 

I'm currently 11 weeks pregnant with one little baby - or "the bunny" as we refer to it. I am Team Green and will not find out the sex unless we have to for some reason. My due date is December 29th. 

My workouts are restricted right now. I'm not allowed to do anything too strenuous and my heart rate should stay at or below 140bpm. I wasn't allowed to swim until the first u/s either. Basically the only thing I have been doing is going for 30 minute walks in the evening...when I haven't fallen asleep at 7:30 that is...

IVFs tend to make you gain some bloat and/or pounds and I'm happy to say that even with the massive amounts of bloating I had from the 21 retrieved embryos, to date I'm only up 4.5 lbs from the beginning of the cycle. I'm not trying to limit my foods and I haven't been tracking on MFP at all. :( It was weird figuring out how many calories I should be at to maintain. That was nearly double what I was doing for my weight loss! I have felt like some days I've completely gorged but then when I add it up, I'm totally fine. My personal goal is to not gain more than 20 lbs. My doctor has not given me a talk about weight gain - mostly because he knows how much I worked at the loss. He has let me know that he will bring me in earlier for the dreaded glucose test because women with PCOS w/IR have a hard time processing insulin as it is so they are more inclined to develop gestational diabetes. Personally I'm almost banking on it for myself. I've indulged in cupcakes but I'm trying to do my best with the sugars. 

So...that is my update! I'm obviously not going to be doing the Disney Half in 2015 but I'm very happy to have this "excuse" to skip it. I've already told K that I'm going to run the 2016 Half. Once this baby is born the weight loss game is back on (obviously after I'm cleared to work out again) and I'm positive that I will continue to have success. 

Shamrock Shuffle Wrap-Up

Here is my BoA Chicago Shamrock Shuffle Wrap-Up.

I would run this race again for sure. Maybe next time I will be allowed to actually go hard. And not jalk. Or maybe you prefer wog. Yes, a jog/walk. To clarify though, I never once walked any of the five miles. I know my nurse said to walk it. But I ran it...and by ran I mean that I jogged so damn slow that I didn't even pass the freaking walkers! LOL. No joke, I kept pace with the walkers. But I ran that whole damn thing! And you know what? I am perfectly happy with my results - honest.

Anyway, first things first. I have an awesome sister and since she lives closer to downtown, she went ahead and picked up our registration packets at the expo at Navy Pier on Friday morning. She said it was a good thing because Navy Pier is under construction and it was a nightmare to get to. Because of the crowds and limited space (all had to be outdoors bc of the construction), she wasn't able to walk around and look at the merchandise. This is one of my complaints about a lot of races. They only have all the fun t-shirts and socks and hats and gear at the expos. On race day I know they would sell a ton of product because people cross the finish line and are feeling pretty dang good about their accomplishments. Anyway, I'm getting side tracked here already.

We got a ride into the Loop from my FIL and then waited for my SIL and her fiance too meet us. He and K were to be our personal photographers on course, hahaha. We were in the third wave, corral J, and scheduled to hit the course at 9:15. 

Pre Race Pics

 

And we were off! K and SIL's FI started off about a just past the start line to try to catch us coming past in the beginning of the race. K had some fun catching pics of some random people, although he is mad he missed getting a shot of someone dressed as King Koopa.

 

There I am :) 

After we went past them they had directions to go to State St. to try to catch us coming up the street with the Chicago Theater sign behind us (yes, I planned a photo op). We hit mile 1 without any difficulty but I knew I would have to hit the first set of porta-potties because it was that time of the month and it was a very heavy day. I told my sis to not worry about waiting around with me and to just head off on the course on her own. I think she was a little relieved because she wanted to have a better time than what I was going to end up with.

So I am sitting in the line for the potty and K finds me :) He said it was a good thing I was wearing my shamrock beret because that is how he spotted me. Anyway, so I get into the stall...and there is no more toilet paper. And I had to change a tampon. I was *not* a happy camper. Thank god we had some water and tissue in the backpack K was lugging around. That is all I will say about that. This paragraph is my only true disappointment with the race and the organization.

So I get going, K snaps some pics of me and I am off again. I won't plan on seeing them again until the end so I started to take pics of myself and the route along the way.
Mile 2

Selfie taken somewhere between mile 2-3

Mile 3

 5k mark (sorry, pic is a bit blurry)

Jalking/wogging past the Sears Tower (excuse the double chin, lol)

Mile 4 - almost there!

On the very last hill (Roosevelt Bridge) about to make the final turn

The final stretch and the finish line

Post Race

I DID IT!!!!

Shamrock Shuffle Complete!!!

And I ran it all! My time was laughable - but I'm still 100% proud of the accomplishment.

I am so damn sore in my right hip right now. We just got back to WI and I'm laying on the couch. I have a 6:45 am doctor's appointment so I am going to crash. I will write a longer wrap up, complete with pictures, either tomorrow or Tuesday. I have a super crazy week coming up- big boss in town at work, RE visits/meds/monitoring for IVF, bridal shower for SIL this coming weekend, appraisal on Wednesday morning for our refinancing, etc. so I will do my best to get the race wrap-up done asap. 

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Weigh In Wednesday

I'm holding steady which is slightly miraculous seeing as though I feel I've been eating like a 900 lb. trucker. I'm constantly hungry. I have a feeling it is because of the birth control pills I just finished up in preparation for IVF.

And yeah - cat's out of the bag. I'm currently doing IVF and that is why I can't run the Shamrock Shuffle this week. I'm still going to finish it though, even if I feel like a fraud just walking it.

But the good news is that I am back to 214 lbs and my 40 lb loss! That is something I am very proud of. I just hope that in a month I will be gaining some pregnancy weight.Keep your fingers crossed for me. If this fails (please no) then my plans for running the Disney Half are still in play. If it works and I am able to carry to term, well then...screw the race ;-) I've been trying to beat infertility for over 6 years now. I need this to work.

Tasty Tuesday

I'm trying out something new here for Tuesdays. Since I'm in a weird place in regards to training and races, I need some other regular ideas to post about. So here comes my Tasty Tuesdays series. I'm going to try to share some healthier food dishes with you. Many will be ones I haven't tried yet myself but I have a goal of making everything I share :)

For the first installment, I have Skinny Italian Beef and Peppers

(Photo courtesy of Skinny Mom)

Decription:

"Get ready to give your pizza cutter a rest and dig into my beef and peppers casserole! This dinner is my answer to the challenge of cooking low-carb Italian meals, and the results couldn’t be more delicious! Peppers, onions, celery, and a little surprise (garbanzo beans!) balance out the hearty ground beef in this perfect weeknight meal! This dish keeps well in the freezer, making it a great make ahead meal, and the leftovers are easy to reheat and still taste fantastic for a small lunch!"

Now...this Chicago girl knows that Italian Beef is nothing to joke about. You just don't go around calling any meat you want Italian Beef...but I will give this one a pass because it sounds like a tasty meal. A friend made it this weekend and is eating it for lunch. I forgot to ask her how it was but I will try to report back as soon as I find out :)

Motivational Monday

Today's message is simple. It comes at a time I need to remember that when I set this goal of completing this 8k, I had my doubts on how well I could do it. I didn't know how much weight I would be able to lose before this race. I also didn't know that because of another decision (to be discussed at a later date) I would be sidelined from actually running this race. 

The thing is, I still have a lot to be proud of. I still did it. I made it. I will be able to say I participated in an 8k after this week. That is something I am very proud of. 

1 Week Until the Shamrock Shuffle 8k!!

Eeek! It's race week!!!

Am I prepared for it? Well, had I been able to continue training I don't doubt I would have been able to run the entire 5 miles. I don't doubt I will be able to finish this by walking. I just hope that I'm not the only one that is strictly walking. If I don't see anyone else, yeah I'm going to hang my head in shame, lol. 

I don't have much of a training plan this week.
Monday: walk a couple miles and weight train (upper)
Tuesday: run a couple miles
Wednesday: pool? walk?
Thursday: run a couple miles
Friday: off
Saturday: off
Sunday: 8k

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Weigh-in Wednesday

I like my sick weight from last week better than today's, lol. 

Last Thursday I hit a low of 214.2 - which brought me to 40 lbs lost. But between then and now, I am at 216.4. That still gets me to 38 lbs lost. 

I'm just at a holding point right now. Per doctor's orders my training is to be toned down and I will not be allowed to run the Shamrock Shuffle - only walk it :-( I know it's for the greater good so I'm trying to stay positive. Being on meds right now that normally cause weight gain is making it harder to lose plus you add in a week of being sick and you just get a case of the "blahs."

Enough of the whining though. I am still down a pound! Woo hoo!

Stay well y'all - I have heard of people in many other states battling the virus I had. it is not a fun time!

2 weeks until Shamrock Shuffle 8k

Well Hello!

I am still alive. I don't feel like I've been doing much else other than sleep, cough, and rest for the last 5 days. It all started with a cough on Tuesday. No other symptoms. By Wednesday at 11 am I was packing up my work laptop and going to work from home because I was rapidly declining. The aches were horrible. I'm sure I had a fever in there that I managed to break around 1 am Thursday morning. Of course I got the loving husband sick too. So now I think I am on the mend. I'm probably back to about 60%.

Needless to say, I have not exercised all week. My weight has been a yo-yo up and down. Some days I barely eat and others I just can't stop. Oh well. I honestly just don't care, LOL. 

I'm not sure when I will be back to working out. I'm not planning on it on Monday and Tuesday. If the cough (and the coughing up of all the congestion) is gone on Wednesday I might try to walk a couple miles and call it quits. I could run but I'm almost positive that will be the cause of my coughing up a lung. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and do not catch whatever is making the rounds out there!

Sick time out

Basically....nothing going on over here except me being really sick. I haven't worked out since Monday and I didn't even weigh-in.

Sorry, as soon as I'm back on my feet I'll get back to the grind.

Motivation Monday

Today's motivation stems from the fact that I've had some up and down days over the last couple of weeks. 

It's ok to have a cheat day. It's not ok to have cheat days - especially right in a row. 

Weekends are my downfall. Always have been, always will be I fear. Workdays have a routine to them. I know what I am going to eat for breakfast, snacks, lunch, and most likely dinner. The guess work is gone. I even know approximately when I am going to be eating all of them too. I also have the added security of not being able to just go open the cabinet or fridge and grab something to eat. 

With the weekends, it's all a game as to what we're going to eat and when. We have been really trying to have a better idea of our game plan before the weekend hits. If we at least know where we will be out and about, we have a better chance of making better decisions. That is one of the things we are working on going forward. 

That is why I choose these motivational phrases today. Health, wellness, and fitness is always a commitment. It is always making a conscious effort to make the best decision you can. I am far from perfect when it comes to these decisions. But I always have these two thoughts in my head when I am "cheating." I cannot afford to just give up and let all the progress go down the drain.

3 weeks until the Shamrock Shuffle 8k!!

Today was one of the nicest days we've had here in Northeast Wisconsin all year long so I took the opportunity to actually get outside and get my run in. By nice, I mean about 38 with a feels like temp of 29 due to the wind, and partly sunny. But hey - it felt DAMN good to be out on the road getting that run in! I also had my longest run to date today - 4.09 miles according to Map My Run and I didn't stop once. I was/am pretty proud of that.

If the race was today, I know I could have pushed another mile out. I just know it. I felt it. If only it were today. I am still unsure if my doctor is going to allow me to do it. I'm honestly guessing no, even with my protests that my mile time is more than double an elite runner, lol. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get major side eye from him. Oh well, it's ok. It's for the greater good.

I believe it is supposed to be about 46 tomorrow and if I get home and there is still light out, I'm thinking about adding a nice and easy walk into the plan for the day. Maybe with the dog. I'm sure he would be in heaven getting out of the snow covered back yard. Thursday I have a doctor's procedure during the day so I'm not sure if I will have to make that a rest day or if it will be ok to keep trucking.

For the week ahead:
Monday: walk, stretch, strength (arms/upper)
Tuesday: 3 mile run
Wednesday: 4 minute cross train (try #3 for swimming)
Thursday: rest day or 2 mile + strength (legs)
Friday: rest or water fitness or Thursday's plan (play it by ear)
Saturday: play it by ear. If Th & Fri end up being rest days, 50 min cross train
Sunday: 4 mile run (man I'd love for this to be outside but forecast only says 26)

Have a wonderful week everyone! Keep up all your hard work!

Weigh In Wednesday...errr Thursday

So I'm a day late. Meh. ;-) 

I've been off my game this week. I was so drained on Monday I skipped the gym. Then I had to go to the doctor's office on Tuesday and they took a ton of blood (like, 10 vials) and I had a migraine by 4 pm. I went to bed early. 

Even after a stressful day and some shitty kids being disrespectful at the Y, I got an "ok" workout in yesterday. However, I got my 2 mile run in today and some weights so I'm happy. I also forgot to weigh in yesterday so I did that this morning too. 

The scale showed 217.2 this morning! That now makes 37.4 pounds lost in total. I hope to get to that 40 lb mark shortly! We shall see. I have some other things going on right now so I'm not sure that I'll be able to continue my pace but I will do my darnedest!

Happy almost weekend!!