Intermittent Fasting update

I want to keep my brain from thinking about the orange man who is currently THE WORST and DOING NOTHING to stop a virus that has killed over 200,000 people in the US....so I thought that I would give a quick update on how intermittent fasting is going!

I started IF in the last week of January and wrote about it here. It's funny to look back on it now because things have changed! I was consistently doing IF until the pandemic hit in March. Even when I went on a work trip I skipped breakfast, presented all morning long, and didn't eat anything until lunch and was perfectly fine. As soon as I was stuck at home with the kids, working 24/7,  and freaking out over COVID, I started to eat all of my feelings and the 13 pounds that I had lost with IF earlier in the year went right back on my body.

After the July 4th holiday, I realized that I needed to get my sh*t together and started back up with IF. Through some googling, I found the "Delay, Don't Deny: Intermittent Fasting Support" Facebook group and joined. I also download the Delay, Don't Deny audible book and started listening to it on walks around the neighborhood. Turns out the tea that I was drinking back in January/February is on the naughty list and I wasn't truly "clean fasting." So I decided to suck it up and start to drink black coffee in the morning. It's been about two months and as I mentioned during my latest DITL post, black coffee is still gross, but I can tolerate it.

So what do I do these days for IF? Well, I close my eating window (aka stop eating by 7-7:30pm most nights) and I generally don't open my eating window until 2 or 3pm the next day. I'm not woozy, I'm not tired (in fact it is the opposite), I don't have trouble working out before I eat (in fact I prefer it since I don't have food sloshing around in my stomach), and I'm really not that hungry until about 2pm or so. The only thing that I ingest is a cup of black coffee and water until the afternoon. On the weekends I end up eating a bit earlier and only fast 16-17 hours so that I can eat lunch with the kids and CP.

Honestly, it's SO EASY. I don't have to worry about lunch most days because some times I'll have leftovers, sometimes I will just eat snacks (grapes, snap peas, etc), or sometimes I'll make scrambled eggs. Then I look forward to eating a full meal at dinner. 

CP thinks that it is weird and that I am "starving myself" but I truly am not hungry and I'm not eating diet foods...but yet I am still losing weight. So far 7 pounds and this week a friend of mine remarked that I look like I have lost weight (yay!). I can definitely tell in my face! The same author of Delay, Don't Deny has a longer, more recent book that goes into more detail about the science/various studies behind fasting and I have started to read it on walks around the neighborhood. 

I hope to come back with another update in a few months with more weight lost!

2019 Goals- how did I do?

Let's check in on my 2019 goals!

1. Eat at least one vegetarian dinner every week. 

I don't really have control over this as CP is the person that cooks every night, but we did very poorly with this one. I would like to push for this in 2020.

2. Lose 25 pounds this year. 

Well unfortunately this fall I backslid into TERRIBLE habits when I couldn't run anymore and while 
I definitely work out more working from home, my daily step count is terrible. It has

turned into gaining weight....so now I have even more to lose in 2020. :-(

3. Work out for at least 30 minutes at least three times a week. 

This has gone pretty well. I started Morning Meltdown 100 (MM100) through Beachbody this

fall and all of the workouts are less than 30 minutes. Even when I travel I can do the workouts

that don't require weights so I should hit workout #50 TODAY! 

4. Continue monthly dates with CP.

We probably hit this.

5. Get our credit card balance to $0 this year.

Done! We hit this halfway through the year and have continued this even through 

Christmas. Woo hoo!

6. Get a new job. 

Done! I love my new job!

7. Continue to be politically active whether it is writing postcards to voters, contacting my

elected officials about things that are important to me, or participating in marches.

Still doing this. Will likely step up my game in 2020.

8. Run in at least three races this year including the Soldier Field 10 miler.

Done! This spring I did a 10k, Soldier Field 10 miler, and a half marathon. On Thanksgiving

Day I powered through a turkey trot 5k which left me in pain from plantar fasciitis for days (I did

not run at all before the race). I have new shoes (Hoka One One) but still find myself in pain 

because I do some jumping in MM100.

9. Run one race with Izzy this year.

Izzy sprained her ankle right before Thanksgiving so we couldn't do the turkey trot together (I

had signed her up for it). Maybe we can do a race next year?

2019 goals

Since it's almost March, it's probably time to write down my goals for the year. LOL.

1. Eat at least one vegetarian dinner every week. 
While we certainly have been eating less red meat with Weight Watchers, we are eating a lot of chicken. I would like to lessen my environmental impact this year.

2. Lose 25 pounds this year. 

I'm happy with the 25 that I lost last year and would like to lose 25 more to get down to my 

wedding weight.

3. Work out for at least 30 minutes at least three times a week. 

I have started strong so far this year, mostly with 21 Day Fix workouts. I am looking forward 

to Shaun T's new program when it comes out in March and when the weather gets nicer I 

will be spending time running outside.

4. Continue monthly dates with CP.

5. Get our credit card balance to $0 this year.

Recent news stories have me worried about whether we are going to owe taxes this year 

instead of getting a refund....that will certainly hinder our ability to meet this goal but I 

hate throwing money away each month.

6. Get a new job. 

I spent a lot of last year doing informational interviews and working on crafting a good 

resume. I have also spent a lot of time figuring out what exactly I would like to do and what

I have a passion for outside my current job. I have two paths that I am pursing and I would 

like to make 2019 my year to make the jump.

7. Continue to be politically active whether it is writing postcards to voters, contacting my

elected officials about things that are important to me, or participating in marches.

8. Run in at least three races this year including the Soldier Field 10 miler.

I have always wanted to do the Soldier Field 10 miler and I have some other friends on 

board to run this race with me. It's in May so I have some time to prepare.

9. Run one race with Izzy this year.

I need to find a 1 mile race to do with Izzy this year. I think that she would love it!

There we go! Now I have 10.5 months to get these done!

Checking in on 2018 goals

We are now halfway through the year so I thought that I would check in on my 2018 goals to see how I am doing.

1. Continue our part vegetarian lifestyle through the year. 

Wavering a bit. We have continued to not eat as much red meat but have started to eat more fish and chicken since CP joined Weight Watchers.

2. Continue to send paper cards to friends for their birthdays. 

On Track! 

3. The usual lose weight goal.

On Track! 

January- 1 lb

February- 2lb

March- 6lb

April- 3.5

May- 1

June- 6

Total over the last 6 months: 19.5 pounds!

Only 5.5 more pounds until I hit my first major goal!

4. Be more consistent with working out.

On Track! Currently working on the Beta section of Beachbody's T25 program and feeling stronger! Trying to figure out what program to work on next when I finish this one. Maybe do it over again? I really like the fact that it is only 30 minutes long.

5. Continue monthly dates with CP.

On Track! We just missed March (but made up for it with two dates in April). No dates planned for July but it will be hard to fit one in with our camping vacation, Wes' 2nd birthday this weekend, and then my surgery on the 20th.

6. Pay down our credit card debt.

Stalled! Our patio was finally completed and we had a few extra additions to our final amount due to the landscaper AND we bought new patio furniture so we are still working on this. 

7. Continue to be politically active and contact my elected officials when necessary.

On Track! Since joining the local Moms Demand Action group I have been busy contacting elected officials and going to marches. I have been calling our governor recently about a gun dealer licensing bill and calling elected officials about the immigrant family separations.

8. Create a better and more consistent bedtime routine.

Working on it!  This week I put myself to bed at 9pm and according to my Fitbit slept for 8 hours that night. It was glorious. I do try to head upstairs by 9:30...especially on the nights prior to getting up at 5am to work out.

9. Run in at least two races this year.

Not completed yet! Due to my left foot issue which is more than just plantar fasciitis (according to my physical therapist), I haven't run any races. I dropped out of Tough Mudder because I haven't run in 8 months and thought that starting up running right now before the race would be a good way to have foot problems again. Currently I don't have any pain while walking so it's getting better but I want to keep it that way for a few weeks before I test out any running. I would like to do the Hot Chocolate race later this year...I'm assuming that I would do the 5K version and not the 15K version though.

Check in on 2018 goals

We are now quarter of the way through the year so I thought that I would check in on my 2018 goals to see how I am doing.

1. Continue our part vegetarian lifestyle through the year. 

On Track! I really can't take much credit with this goal because it is really CP that cooks most of our meals, but we have continued to eat meat only a couple nights a week for dinner (mostly Friday and Saturday). I have been trying to eat more fish when we are out at restaurants instead of eating red meat. We have significantly cut down on the amount of meat eaten in our household.

2. Continue to send paper cards to friends for their birthdays. 

On Track! 

3. The usual lose weight goal.

On Track! As I mentioned before, I was slow in making changes so January I saw a 1 pound weight loss, the same in February. However, March was a better month and I lost 4.5 pounds so I am down 6.5 pounds so far. If I can keep up even just losing 4 pounds a month I will definitely hit the weight that I wanted to hit by my birthday in December and even more! 

4. Be more consistent with working out.

Working on it! Last week I took almost a whole week off of my Beachbody workout because...well, I didn't reallyhave a great excuse. But on Friday and Sunday I was back at it for week 3 and feeling fairly good. My heel pain hasn't lessened with the inserts so no running anytime soon, but I will continue with my workouts as there is a low-impact option. 

I will say that a local mom's group did a pushup challenge for the month of March and I faithfully did my pushups EVERY DAY in March. On the last day we were up to two sets of 31 pushups which meant that I did 62 pushups on Saturday (on my knees of course)! So at least I was consistent with that. This month we are doing a combo of moves every day- situps, planks, leg raises, crunches, and pushups. :-)

5. Continue monthly dates with CP.

On Track! I think that we may have missed going on a date in March, but CP was in Ireland for two of the weekends and we were quite busy the rest of the month. We are going to make up for it by going out two weekends in a row this month. :-)

6. Pay down our credit card debt.

On Track! We are watching our spending and we are so close to paying off our credit card debt. Our work bonuses should be hitting our accounts soon and CP gets three paychecks in the month of May and I get three paychecks in the month of June so between all of those things we should be completely set and may have some money to put into our savings account.

7. Continue to be politically active and contact my elected officials when necessary.

On Track! Since joining the local Moms Demand Action group I have been busy contacting elected officials and going to marches. I also wrote a bunch of postcards for the Postcards to Voters group.

8. Create a better and more consistent bedtime routine.

Working on it! I really am a night owl at heart so I enjoy going to bed later on the weekends...but then it messes up my schedule for the week. Unless I am out and having fun with friends, I need to work on getting to bed on time.

9. Run in at least two races this year.

Not completed yet! I'm still not running yet and had to drop out of the Ragnar Relays (the race from Chicago to Madison, WI) in May. However I am signed up for a Tough Mudder with mom friends in August and there is always the local 5K that runs past our house and the 5K that I do with coworkers in September. Plenty of time to get back into running shape and hopefully with less weight on my body I will be able to run faster than last year!

The looming big 4-0

In a little more than 8 months from now I will turn 40. The nice thing about being the youngest person in my class all through growing up and even through college is that I see everyone turn the big 4-0 before me- although being the last one to drive and the last one to turn 21 was a little difficult. Often times women and mothers do not prioritize themselves or their health. I was going down that road this year before I decided that dammit, I'm going to be 40 and I don't want these things to bother me for years down the road when I can fix them now.

Weight

Part of that thinking is why I joined Weight Watchers. So far I am down 6 pounds which is a start. I hope that is a much bigger number by the time my birthday hits in December.

Working Out

I have also prioritized working out. It took me a bit because I was waiting for my heel to get better, but I decided that I was done with that excuse and started the Beachbody T25 workout. At first I was freaking out because I knew that I wouldn't be able to commit to doing the workout 6 days a week....normally that would have kept me from even starting the workout. However, as long as I am consistent and okay with the fact that I may not see results quite as quickly, I'm still doing the workout, just over a longer period of time. Currently I am doing the videos 4 times a week and trying my best to get 10K steps a day otherwise. I am definitely quite sore after the workouts which is a great sign. This month I also joined a 30 day pushup challenge and I've done the pushup workout every day so far this month (today is 2 sets of 20 pushups!). 

Smile

For the past few years now I have been self conscious of my smile because my teeth moved after wearing a night guard in law school. I almost had braces put back on my teeth back when we lived in CT, but then held off because we were trying to get pregnant (to no avail) and it would have required surgery. My teeth moved back for the most part, but I still have a gap between the bottom and top sets of teeth that bothers me. At my last dentist appointment, my dentist mentioned that whenever I wanted to fix the bond on my front tooth (from hitting my tooth on a tile floor when I was 5 or 6 and had just gotten my adult tooth) because it was stained, he could help me with that. I thought about it for a few weeks and decided yes, I am going to put a new bond on and have the bond length match my other front tooth. It won't completely cover the gap but it will cover some of it.

Hair

The grays in my hair have been around for a while, but more recently I have needed to dye them more often because they seem to be noticeable after only a few weeks. I will continue to prioritize that and making the time because I am not quite ready for a full head of gray hair yet. I have also found a few gray hairs in my eyebrows and pluck them immediately!

Lump

Finally, earlier this year I freaked myself out because I found a lump in my neck, sort of where an Adam's apple would be on a man. I got it checked out because after consulting WebMD it could have been something wrong with my thyroid, but thankfully it is a cyst. I'm not sure WHY my body produces all of these random cysts and for about a week or two I was adamant about not doing anything about it because I was afraid of a scar on my neck (I have a big scar on my back from removal of another, larger cyst). However, the cyst isn't going away and I'm starting to see it in pictures. It is only going to get bigger so it's time to get it removed and hopefully the scar won't be too big.

So there you have it. I'm doing my best to start my 40s with my best foot forward!

Right now- July edition

Stealing this from Risa!

Right Now- July edition

Reading:  Do people have time to read anymore? I guess I read the Washington Post every day (especially the Daily 202). Other than that, I have started a book on my Kindle but now it has been so long since I started I have no idea what I am reading and will likely have to start over.

Watching: Game of Thrones of course. I'm so sad that this is a shortened season, but heard that the show runners are thinking about making every episode 90 minutes long next season which would be pretty awesome.

Listening: When I am on the train, it is usually a podcast- Pod Save America or Lovett or Leave It. I also enjoy the New York Times short podcast The Daily. When I am in the car with the kids, Izzy is also requesting the Hamilton soundtrack which is so much more enjoyable than the Frozen soundtrack! She says that her favorite song now is "You'll Be Back" (King George's first song) because she likes to sing the "da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da." Parenting WIN!

Drinking: Before camping I found that Starbucks makes an Caffe Mocha VIA product where you just pour the packet into hot water. I tried it out and it's really not bad, plus I get the caffeine kick that I need in the morning. It's a little over a dollar a packet so much less expensive than if I went to Starbucks to order coffee. When we got back from camping I bought four boxes and I currently drink one packet a day. I'm not sure why so many Facebook friends tried to turn me off from drinking coffee when I asked for suggestions a few months ago- the higher amount of caffeine in coffee is SO MUCH BETTER than the Refreshers/Spark/Chai Latte/Soda/etc. caffeine drinks. I'm not sure I will ever get to drinking black coffee, but for now this works.

Eating: I just had a snack of sugar snap peas, but I am starving. I'm trying to hold out for another 30 minutes until I have a lunch of a chicken salad sandwich and pretzels.

Wearing: A pair of capri pants that I bought at Kohl's and deemed fancy enough to wear to work, a shirt from Ann Taylor Loft and a black cardigan. Nothing exciting but it will be 80 degrees today and I didn't feel like wearing long pants.

Loving: Not having to bring bottles and formula into daycare every morning! It was so great to drop Wes off the past two days with NOTHING in my hands!!

Anticipating: The move back into our house on Saturday. CP and I are trying to move a bunch of stuff ahead of time to shorten the day as much as possible. Our general contractor said that the upstairs will be cleaned before we move back in, but how dusty is the rest of the house going to be? This should be interesting with a crawling toddler...

Hoping: That Buster's MRI shows something we can easily fix to get him better. Also hoping that the pet insurance that we just got for him will pay for whatever we will have to do!

Following: The state of Wes' mouth closely. His bottom left gum is extremely swollen which means another molar is going to erupt soon. The quicker it pushes through the better!

Wondering: How someone like Jared Kushner still has his top secret security clearance?!? He has amended his form three times because he "forgot" over 100 contacts with various foreign individuals. For literally anyone else in the government their security clearance would have been 

Trying: To determine how to go about eating better. Should I join Weight Watchers which I had success with before my wedding? Should I try to convince CP to do Whole 30 to try to deal with my sugar cravings? I'm consistently running three times a week and averaging about 10,000 steps/day yet it's not making a difference on the scale (I'm not necessarily running to lose weight but was hoping that it would be a by-product). I know that diet is 80% of losing weight so I think that I need to do something.

Worrying: That the Republicans are going to get their healthcare bill passed this week. No one even know what they are voting on (which is ridiculous in itself). How come John McCain doesn't see the irony of voting on a healthcare bill when he has just been diagnosed with brain cancer? Sure he has good healthcare and enough money, but if this bill passes, what about low-income people in his state that are diagnosed with the same cancer? Would they even have coverage? Would they have to file for bankruptcy just to stay alive? It boggles my mind.

Planning: I am thinking ahead to next year when I turn 40 and hoping to do a fun friend vacation (without kids) with some law school friends. One of the friends found a place in Iceland where you can stay in a hotel bubble so that you can watch the Northern Lights!  Fingers crossed we can get a grandparent to watch the kids so that we can go somewhere. I definitely want to celebrate 40 in style.

Contemplating: How nice it will be to have a treadmill at our house! CP already bought it and it is scheduled to be delivered with our kitchen appliances. I can't wait to use it on days where it is raining or too cold to go for a run outside. I think that I want to continue running in the morning as much as possible, but it is really going to be great for when CP is traveling, when the kids are down for naps, etc. YAY!!!!

Test results and other snippets

How is it almost July?!? Work has been insane this week so I have had literally no time to blog. So I have snippets for you....

*This morning was Day 2 of my cycle so I went in for bloodwork and ultrasound. The good news is that my HCG is less than 1 again. My results:

Luteinizing Hormone: 2.04

Follicle Stimulating Hormone: 3.18 
Progesterone: 0.470 
Estrogen (should be less than 50 at baseline): 142

Ultrasound: Lining 9.2mm, 4 antral follicles – Right ovary 5.7mm, Left ovary 26.8mm clear cyst – which could be left over from last cycle.

The doctor wants me to come back in on Monday to recheck my hormone levels and get another ultrasound. My lining is still pretty thick and then my stupid estrogen. *sigh*

*This week has not been a good week of eating. Tonight I ate Chinese food for dinner after ordering pizza earlier this week. At this rate I will be 250 lbs by next month. Thank goodness the rest of the week I have been eating salads and black bean soup.

*Tonight I read the book "I Love You Forever" to Izzy. I usually cry a little bit after reading it but the extra hormones running through my body had me bawling after reading the story. Izzy was very concerned with me crying as she hasn't really seen me cry. Poor girl was so confused.

*Then after we brushed teeth and sang songs, I put her in her crib. I told her that I loved her and that I would see her tomorrow. I could have sworn that she said "I love you mama" as I was leaving her room. Amazing.

*The fun thing about a husband that travels for work (CP is currently in China until Saturday afternoon) is that he brings back fancy pajamas for Izzy. She can finally fit into the ones that he bought for her a few months ago.

*Tonight after I got home from work I got a call from a concrete contractor about our cracked garage floor. I explained that the floor was not level and that we had some large cracks. I'm not sure what else he wanted me to explain but he then said "can your husband give me any more information?" First off, I didn't even tell him that I had a husband. And even if I do what makes him think that CP could explain it any better? He made a couple other sexist remarks before asking if I could send him pictures. I hope that we are able to find another company to work with as I'm not sure that I could deal with this guy.

What's going on with you guys?

Monday Accountability

I think that I am changing this post to Mondays.  It's hard to get posts out on Fridays and then by the time Friday rolls around I have already forgotten what I did the last weekend!!

30 Day Buns, Guns & Abs Challenge 

I did the challenge once, last Monday.  My interest in it may be petering out.... However, I do need to do some kind of strength training so whether it is doing YouTube videos or something else, I just need to do it!

Runs

I halfheartedly tried to run on Wednesday with Buster in the morning before work.  I didn't bring my phone which meant no music and the couple of times that I tried to bring my speed from walk to run, my left knee started to bother me.  So yeah, another week of failing to run.

Walks

While we were trying to get Buster healthy once again, we were careful not to exert him too much because as soon as he got excited and started to run around, he would cough.  So we took a family walk on Father's Day, I walked him on Monday when I got home from work, and then I walked him Wednesday morning, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Other exercise

I decided to recruit a co-worker into doing stairs in our office building during lunch.  They don't take a long time to do and it's a great cardio workout.  She is pretty out of shape, so I decided to start slow with her.  On Tuesday we did 6 floors. After the 6 I showed her how it took no time what-so-ever and asked if she could do 6 more.  We ended up doing 12 floors that day.  We 12 floors again on Thursday.

Weight

I saw 196 yesterday on the scale (YAY!), but I'm about to get my monthly visitor so that will drastically change for the next week or so.

Friday Accountability

Two posts in one day?  Wow! Sorry about that last one- had to get that rant out.

Moving on....remember last week when I posted about the 30 Day Buns, Guns, & Abs Challenge?  Well, I only got one of you to join me (yay Jess!) and we have decided to do a Friday accountability post to make sure that we are staying on track. Feel free to join us- it's not too late!  Every Friday I am going to post on how I did exercise-wise that week in hopes that you guys shame me into doing more!  :-)

30 Day Buns, Guns & Abs Challenge 

So far, so good!  I have done one set of the exercises every day.  I definitely could do more reps (especially squats), but figured that since this is really my first time working my arms and abs in a while, I'll stick with the one set and do other strength exercises on the side.  

Runs

Only 1 run this week (this morning) for 2 miles to pick up the car that I left at the other train station yesterday. Buster came with me so that he also got some exercise.  I find when CP is gone it is harder to get my runs in because even when I am working from home I have other errands that take up my time.  I also want to pick up Izzy from daycare earlier on the days that I can so that we have more time together.

Walks

If I can't get a run in with Buster during the week, I will at least be able to walk him. I walked him at least a mile on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  After I picked Izzy up from daycare on Weds she and I walked 1.6 miles to and from the grocery store because it was such a nice day.

Other exercise

On Saturday, I gardened for a couple of hours while Izzy was sleeping. I planted hot pepper plants, eggplant, and cucumber seeds.  I also weeded at bit.

Weight

It seems to be staying pretty consistent from when I posted about being excited that I was once again under 200. I would be surprised if it didn't trend downwards at least a little bit soon because I have been eating a ton of healthy salads and have lots of kale, swiss chard, and spinach to eat from our garden! 

Next week I hope to keep up with the 30 Day Challenge and run at least two times.  I need to be a bit more consistent!!

Needed: big glass of wine

It is only the 5th day of being a "single mom" and I am ready to cry.  How the hell do military wives do this for a year????  It actually hasn't been Izzy that has been so frustrating this week- it's been everything else. Couple that with not sleeping very well (again, not because of Izzy but because I need to get things prepared for the next day after she goes to bed and then I end up going to bed after 10-10:30pm and that's too late when you are waking up at 5am) and it's a recipe for a frazzled NSC.  I'm usually fairly "with it" and this week has been the complete opposite. Thankfully it has all been minor things but they are starting to add up and it's making me want a big glass of wine.  Except that it is barely noon, I'm working, and I have to drive to MI this afternoon so drinking would not be advised for at least a few more hours.

Monday I showed up to daycare in a different car than the one I dropped her off in because I thought Buster would enjoy the car ride and he likes the bigger car....I realized once she was in my arms that the car seat was in the OTHER car and I had to go home to get it before I could pick her up. (I decided that morning to not bring her car seat in like usual because she is getting pretty heavy.)  

Tuesday I rushed from one work meeting to another and realized that I forgot to bring dressing for my salad.  I didn't have any time between meeting to buy some so I ate a dry salad for lunch. I guess I could call this a win because I didn't waste calories on dressing?

Yesterday I knew that an event that I was attending at another site was going to be close in terms of catching the right train home in order to pick up Buster and Izzy from their respective daycares. I wasn't able to catch a cab from the site (I assumed that I was going to be able to), so I got a ride from someone from another company to the train station.  I missed the train that I needed and had to decide whether I took the one at 5:30 that put me at the train stop two blocks from my house, but not the train stop where my car was....or take the 5:52 that put me at the train stop for my car.  I decided that I would figure out how to move the other car and ran to catch the 5:30 because it got in earlier.  I was still late in picking up Buster and Izzy from daycare after grabbing the other car from our house AND I didn't get to talk to CP last night because I was running so late.  After getting everyone home and Buster fed, there was no time to have Izzy reject the sweet potatoes and breastmilk I pureed for her and no time to give her a bath so I nursed her and she went to bed. Essentially I had no quality time with her yesterday. Everything worked out okay once I ran with Buster this morning to pick up the car but it was really stressful- and the fact that Izzy was at daycare for almost a full 12 hours yesterday is more than ridonkulous.

Today I thought the day was going better but then I got an email from our dog walking service.  Although there was no indication from the dog walker's note that something went wrong on Weds when she came to walk Buster, we have been told that they won't be walking him anymore because they have to worry about the safety of their employees. This is probably a whole other post, but dammit. 

I know that none of these are life threatening things.  I know that I could have much bigger problems.  I probably shouldn't even post this because it is a post only interesting to me.... But maybe the rest of the day will be better?  Maybe I will finally get my big glass of wine tonight after navigating Chicago traffic to get to Michigan?  One can only hope.

Weight milestone

Quick post because I am already two days late in posting Izzy's 5 month update. 

I have been stuck at a certain weight for a while now and it has been frustrating. I should be burning more calories these days simply from breastfeeding. I'm also not spending my nights in front of the tv like I used to. I may not be exercising during that time, but I am tidying the house up or doing something to get ready for the next day. I am not dieting (a no-no while breastfeeding) and while I could be eating a bit better, I am still eating fairly healthy.

I took two weeks off from running because CP was in Thailand and I was sick/exhausted so I thought that wouldn't help matters. I went on a 2.5 mile run yesterday after work and was happy to have no uterine pain during or after the run. Yay! 

Maybe the exercise break helped push my body to lose some weight because when I stepped on the scale this morning I weighed 198! This may not be a big deal to some of you but I don't think that I have weighed in the 100s for a while. In fact, when I went to try to find the last time that I weighed less than 200, I think it was all the way back in July of 2011 after running the half marathon. My earliest entry in My Fitness Pal is from Feb 2012 and it shows a weight of 215. The last monthly weigh-in I did on the blog was June of 2012 and I weighed 214. I think I stopped the monthly posts because I was sad and embarrassed to be writing on a monthly basis that I was over 200 pounds and I essentially had stopped exercising so it wasn't going to get much better.

I am super excited about this latest weigh-in. That means that I am finally out of the "obese" BMI category and in the "overweight" category (I'm 5'9"). Still not where I want to be but better. Frankly it would be nice to be 175 pounds again like I was around our wedding and for a good year or so afterwards.....but as of right now I don't have a particular goal in mind. Just to continue to lose weight and eat healthy so that if I am lucky enough to get pregnant again, I start out healthier than I did with Izzy.

Yay!!!!!!!!

Weight

At my doctor appointment on June 20th I was pleased that I had only gained 5 pounds so far this pregnancy.  In fact, a little more than pleased.  I was relishing the fact that I haven't gained much weight.  For someone that didn't have any nausea during my first trimester and zero food aversions, I thought that I did well through my first 15 weeks of pregnancy.

I did start out a bit overweight for this pregnancy and so far my doctor is completely happy with my weight gain.  She said that these days doctors recommend gaining 25-30 pounds during pregnancy and even though I started out a bit heavier, that I could still gain 25 pounds and be okay.  She would also be okay if I didn't gain all 25 pounds.

I am NOT decreasing my food intake at all, I just am making healthier choices than before because I am not as stressed.  Think lots and lots of FRUIT and salads and drinking tons of water.  I mean, I used to drink tons of water, but now that alcohol and soda no longer touch my lips (okay, the occasional soda but it is very infrequent), I am filling up quite a bit more with water.  I also am exercising and moving around a lot.  Not running or doing high impact stuff, but walking daily and doing prenatal yoga once a week.

To be completely honest, I really don't want to gain 25 pounds with this pregnancy.  I still feel like people are looking at my stomach, judging me for being fat instead of looking at it and knowing that I am pregnant.  My doctor said that most people gain a pound a week in the second trimester so that I shouldn't be scared if I suddenly pack on the pounds. But I don't want that to be me.  I of course want to be healthy for the baby, but every pound that I gain is going to be a pound that I have to lose after the c-section.  You know, when I can't exercise for at least six weeks. I know that breastfeeding should help with weight loss, but what if I have problems with breastfeeding as some women do?

For now I am just going to continue doing what I am doing and trying to eat as many fruits and veggies as possible because they are all good for the baby.  And to cross my fingers that my weight gain is slower than a pound a week.  At least my bicycle has finally gotten fixed.  I'm picking it up tonight and CP and I are planning on going on a ride!*

*CP is a little worried because he thinks that I might fall due to my clumsiness.  I hope that I don't prove him right!!

9 weeks today

Today I am 9 weeks pregnant.  I truly can't believe that I only have one more week to go until I'm in the double digits!!  I had a huge meeting for work today that has occupied much of my brain for the past few weeks (thankfully it went well!) so I'm giving you bullets today:

*So far, so good with the SCH. I was VERY careful on Thursday and Friday and was frankly pretty bored at home while CP and his family went galavanting around the city of Chicago.  I did join them at the Chicago Botanic Gardens on Saturday, but it was only because CP wheeled me around in a wheelchair all day.  I felt like the biggest idiot, but it did allow me to get out of the house and see some great flowers!  If you were there, I was the annoyed woman who was begging their husband to stop pretending to let me roll down hills or knock me into things.  Ahhhh CP.

*On Monday I graduated from my RE's office.  It was only the third time actually meeting my doctor as she didn't do anything in my IVF process.  Oh well- I always said that as long as she got me pregnant I didn't care!!

*I donated my leftover Gonal-f and Menopur to my clinic before CP's family came into town.  I am also hoping it gives me some good karma as the meds go towards patients that are part of the self-pay program.

*Tomorrow I have my first appointment with my new OB.  Looking forward to an ultrasound that hopefully shows the SCH getting better. It's weird that I will now have a "regular-person" doctor.

*As of this morning I have not gained one pound in this pregnancy- which is pretty amazing seeing as if I haven't been able to work out at all this week and all I seem to want to eat is carbs (mmmm bagels for breakfast).  Then again, I have been eating fruit like it is my job.

*I don't have a ton of symptoms right now other than being tired, LARGE BOOBS (I'm so scared of what they may become) and frequent peeing- especially at night.  If I could skip over the nausea/puking part of the first trimester that would be fabulous!  I probably also have some of the heartburn/acid reflux that a lot of pregnant women get, but that was fairly normal for me before I got pregnant so not much has changed.

*I have been annoyed at how many people I have had to tell about my pregnancy so early on before I have been able to tell good friends about it.  My hair dresser and dentist both wanted to chat about how I was feeling and general pregnancy stuff but I didn't need or want the entire salon and dentist office to know that I was pregnant.  I told both of them that it was really early in hopes of shutting them up, but it didn't help much.  They probably thought that the pregnancy was an accident or something by the sour puss look on my face- little did they know how long we have been working for this!  I'm not really worried about jinxing the pregnancy, but I still have another month or so before I can relax a bit more. 

Anyway, I am desperately behind my Reader so I'm sorry if my comments are a few days late!!

Liebster blog award

How are all of the bloggers out on the East Coast?  I hope that you guys are doing okay today.  One of my friends that lives on the Jersey Shore coast had to be evacuated from her house today- yikes.

The Barren Librarian bestowed a Liebster blog award on me yesterday. Awwww how nice of her!  What is a Liebster Blog Award? The Liebster Blog Award is given to up-and-coming bloggers with less than 200 followers, and nominated by fellow bloggers. Liebster is a German word meaning sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. I now have the honor of answering her 11 questions, and then nominating 11 awesome bloggers to answer MY 11 questions! So...here are my answers to the questions! 

1.       What’s your favorite pizza?

Being that I am from Chicago my favorite pizza is Edwardo’s deep dish pizza with sausage and green peppers. Thankfully there is no Edwardo’s around me or else I would weigh 100 pounds more than I do.  If you are not in Chicago you can order and have it shipped to you!

2.       What movie could you watch every day for the rest of your life and still not hate it?

Probably something from my childhood like The Goonies or The Princess Bride.  Timeless movies that I hope to share with my kids someday.

3.       If you had to choose between working a job you loved for your whole life or not working at all for your whole life, which would it be?

I would rather work a job that I loved.  I’m the type of person that wants to make an impact on the world and if I just farted around all day, I wouldn’t accomplish anything.  Work gives me structure and makes me feel like I am making a difference.  Even though I am not a fan of my job, I would rather work and help CP pay the bills than watch daytime tv and be bored on the couch. 

4.       Favorite place to buy clothes?

For work clothes I like to shop at New York & Company because they sell pants for tall women and the clothes are not too expensive.  For lounging around clothes I have been buying a whole lot of Columbia stuff at outlets.  Their clothes are seriously comfortable.

5.       Mac or PC?

I’m absolutely a PC girl.  My parents have a Mac and I hate trying to use it.  That being said, I do like our iPad and my iPhone.

6.       Would you live anywhere but where you are living right now?

I’m enjoying living in Chicago again, but I still miss the mountains of Denver.  I would move back there in a heartbeat.

7.       Favorite musical artist?

I’m not really good at these favorite questions because it really depends on my mood and the day.  But there are a few artists that I can ALWAYS listen to:  Michael Franti & Spearhead, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Widespread Panic.  More recently I can’t get enough of Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Of Monsters and Men.

8.       What cause would you champion (not necessarily IF related) if you were a rich and famous celebrity?

The problems with our food these days.  The problems with GMO foods, the ridiculousness behind not labeling GMO foods, and the crap that we as Americans are putting into our bodies every single day.  That also extends to the chemicals that are in so many of our beauty products.  

9.       What number one celebrity would you marry if your significant other wasn’t in the picture?

Honestly?  I wouldn’t marry any celebrity.  Being married to a celebrity means that I would be thrust into the limelight- something that I am NOT interested in doing.  Plus celebrities have all kinds of self-esteem issues and are surrounded by “yes” people.  No thanks.  Not interested.

10.   What words do you hate to say?  

Panties.  I refuse to use that word. 

11.   Biggest pet peeve?

People who are late and don’t call.  We all have cell phones these days….if you are running late just shoot a text or quickly call me to let me know.

My 11 awesome bloggers (I did my best to not award a blogger that had already been awarded):

musings, graces and fate 

Bebe Suisse

Tried and trying

My Hormonacoaster

Growing Griswolds

Breathe Gently

Just Jess in TX

The Future Fords

Eat, Blog and Be Married

Amy Jo....On the Go

Navigating the Mothership

These bloggers must answer the following questions:

1.  If you could do any job in the world (money being no object), what would you do?

2.  What is your favorite Halloween candy?

3.  If the possibility ever arose, would you live abroad?  If so, in what country?

4.  Where is the most romantic place (LOCATION LADIES NOT A BODY PART- get your mind out of the gutter!) you have ever been kissed?

5.  Red or blue?

6.  What movie makes you cry every time you watch it?

7.  Do you watch the Real Housewives on Bravo?  If so, which cast is your favorite?

8.  What would you eat for your last meal if you were on death row?

9.  If you could trade places with someone for a day who would it be and why?

10.  Sunrise or sunset?

11.  How many states and/or countries have you lived in?

Have fun!  Can't wait to read your answers!