Hello! Happy Wednesday.

Weight: the same.

Not up, not down, just the same. So I am still 4.8 pounds below my starting weight with a BMI of 27.3.

I have to say, the news this morning didn't exactly surprise me. Total number of visits to the gym this week: 0. Whoops. I'm not sure how that happened, but I just kind of forgot about it. I am planning to go to boot camp tonight and even invited a friend, so hopefully one good work-out will jump start another.

As for food, I want to share with you this nummy crock-pot recipe that my friend Courtney told me about. It's the world's easiest recipe with a total of four ingredients. And no cooking, no stirring, no prep.

You will need:

2 (or 4, depending on your crowd) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can of whole kernel corn
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar of your favorite salsa

Dump it all in the crock pot, turn it on low for 6 hours (although you can easily get away with it on high for 4 hours), and viola! Nummy chicken supper, very little fat, good protein and fiber, and it's delicious to boot. If you are so inclined, sprinkle a little cheese on top (or Greek yogurt, my fav) or even serve it on a bed of brown rice (I'm the only person in the world that doesn't like rice, so I don't do this. But I hear others like it). Enjoy!

How are you doing? Stats? Tips?

I weighed myself again after writing the most recent entry and I am down a full two pounds from this morning! I know weight varies, but I'll take what I can get.

Two pounds, baby!

So I am officially down 3.8 pounds total, with a net loss this week of .8. 

Sweet! And I'm officially staying off the scale until next Wednesday.

BMI:  27.4

So I'm up 1.4 lbs.

Hmph.

But -- I am down1.4 lbs from my initial weight (2 weeks ago) and I think this is much more accurate than my random 3 lb loss last week.

Because I actually did something this week. Yay!

I'm definitely not discouraged by this gain, mainly because of the way I feel. I hit the gym four times since last Wednesday (just narrowly missing my goal of 5x/wk) and I've been really conscious about food.

Let's talk about exercise first.

My goals: 5 hours of cardio a week. This goal is shamelessly stolen from a good friend who saw a doctor for weight loss, and she is looking amazing these days. Per her doc, he said at least 5 hours (initially) of simple cardio - don't worry about weights for now. Likewise, it's cardio with a heart rate of 160 or higher. (obviously, this depends on your age). And you know what? Around 160 is when I break a sweat and really start to feel it.

And I've found (rediscovered, if you may) that I really like cardio. Pre-baby, I was all, "I hate the gym, I don't wanna go" and now post-baby (anno domini baby?) it's like the most glorious 60 minutes of my day. Mainly because I get to plug in and tune out. And, best of all, I have discovered...Jersey Shore. Which makes the gym TOTALLY worth it.

I even hit boot camp last week, although it was not nearly as fun as the first time. The way the class works is we start with ab work on our own mats, then we move to push-ups and some simple stretching. It's all at your own pace (which I like) and pretty low key. Then the instructor sets up cones across the gym, lines everyone up into even lines, and makes us run, like gym class. We do sprints, suicides, grapevines, crab-walking, lunges (argh), etc up and down these cones. Sometimes you do two laps, sometimes three, and you (well, me) are likely to be completely out of breath and dripping with sweat within about 4 minutes.

The first time we did it, the class was great; everyone cheered each other on each time we crossed the finish line. This time, however, the guy behind me acted like I was slowing him down since he caught up to me during each run. And then trailed RIGHT behind me like I was a dead weight. I must have told him about three times, "Just go ahead of me. Just cut, it's fine" but he continued to torment me with his close proximity. Even the other women in my line were giving him dirty looks and me sympathetic ones. Finally (it must have been the adrenaline), I said rather loudly, "Oh, I'm sorry I'm not fast enough. I didn't realize you just had a baby, too." And that shut him up (or at least made him increase his distance from me.)

And yes, I did whisper to the girl in front of me that my "baby" is almost 13 months since I felt bad for saying it. Whatever. Crazy, overzealous boot camp dude.

Okay, let's talk about food...

I am not following any plan. I refuse to. I'm not using a program or a point system or anything. I'm not counting calories, monitoring my carb intake or decreasing my fat consumption. I am simply eating what I like, when I like, and trying to pick things that are healthy for me. While I realize this is going to result in much slower weight loss, I just don't want to hop on that Crazy-Dieting-Train again, since I've been a charter member for so long. I'm done. And I'm not going to stress about food.

What's interesting is that the moment I let go of it...the moment I found I wasn't all that hungry. If you really think about identifying when you are actually hungry - hungry for food b/c your stomach is growling - you realize you aren't hungry a lot of the time. My food intake was a lot of snacking, mainly b/c it so available. And I'm bored during much of the day, and food is a good distraction (as is blogging, but thankfully, blogging doesn't have any calories). So I am trying to clue into my body's cues and break some bad habits.

Likewise, Scotty's eating habits are proving to be illuminating to me as well. 1.) Toddlers don't over eat. They don't over eat because they are bored or mad or sad. They eat because they are hungry. 2.) Toddlers don't want "something sweet" at the end of a meal, like dessert. This is a learned behavior, which means it is one I can break. And 3.) Toddlers don't have specific cravings - they eat what they want, and don't long for spicy, crunchy, sweet or creamy. They just eat. So it's kind of nice to look at this behavior and get back to basics. Who knew my almost 13 month old would prove to be so helpful?

How are you doing? Any loss or gains? Insights or thoughts? Let me know!

The good news:  I lost almost three pounds!

The bad news: I did essentially nothing.

Hmmm...I think this might be beginner's luck. I mean, yes, I was conscious of portion sizes and tried to offer good substitutes for specific cravings (i.e. swapping out baby carrots with hummus for kettle chips, apple instead of a cookie, etc) but those little changes cannot have culminated in a three-pound drop. I'm not trying to undermine success, but I do think it was probably a combination of water weight and just a lucky day on the scale. Next week will definitely be more telling.

I received several questions about BMIs - or body mass index. This cannot be calculated on a scale - it just a simple formula you plug into any number of BMI sites using your height and current weight. I like:

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

since it is easy, quick, and free. (three of my favorite words in the English language.)

Also, aside from highlighting the importance of substituting foods, I want to talk a little about working out. I only made it to the gym once this week. (big sigh, I know). It hit me that my work-out schedule is going to be a lot harder to manage than previously anticipated. First, the gym at the day care scares the crap out of me. You put your kid on the counter, they stick a tag to his back with his name and age written on it, and then essentially slide your child across the counter into the play area like he is nothing more a carton of milk you just purchased at 7-11. No good-byes, no questions, no forms/waivers/liabilities to fill out. (You do have to sign in and show ID, but that's about it.) And now that Scotty is moving, he goes in the toddler area which is just fraught with disaster, in my opinion. If his park behavior is any indication, he will likely try to run (I use that word loosely) with the bigger kids and be mowed down in the process.

So...no gym during the day.

Which leaves me with several options - limp through the day, pray I have enough energy to get a whole workout done at 6:30pm, and then wake up and do it again tomorrow, or wake up early (gulp) and try to get a workout in before the sun rises.

I don't like either of these options.

I'm going to experiment a little this week and figure out a good routine, but I do have one thing going in my favor -- football season. Brian has decided that this is the year Scotty will be indoctrinated into the Official Packer Football Watching Club, which gives Mommy a full four hours of free time on Sunday. With Scotty's little Aaron Rodger's jersey already laying out, ready for the big day, I feel like I need to seize this moment and hit the treadmill.

So, here are some thoughts for the week ahead:

-- You are only one workout away from a better mood.

-- Eat! Just make better choices.

and...

-- Don't beat yourself up when you fall off the wagon. One chocolate chip cookie did not make anyone fat. It's 20 chocolate chip cookies on consecutive days that can be the start of a problem.

Weight lost this week: 2.8 lbs.
Total weight lost:  2.8 lbs.
Starting BMI:  27.9
Current BMI: 27.4

How about you? How did you do?

It's here!

Time to don the gym clothes and get a sweat on.

Yay...

...yawn.

I'm not as pumped up as I should be. (who is, ever, when it comes to exercise and dieting - ahem, I mean, lifestyle change?)  I've been thinking about this day all week since I posted on Monday, and I brought it on myself - accountability. Public accountability. Maybe we should look into adding a new phrase to the lexicon and calling this 'blog accountability'?

Either way, today is here. I opened my big mouth and here we are. I just finished a bowl of egg whites and lean sausage (why does it feel like you are always eating out of a bowl when you are dieting? I mean, making a new lifestyle change?) I know what's for lunch - salad with deli turkey - and I'm planning to hit Boot Camp tonight at the gym. We are good to go, folks.

And I will say, I feel my mentality starting to change. In anticipation of today, I found myself driving home yesterday after a quick picnic at Town Square thinking about how ravenously hungry I was. I contemplated hitting McDonalds (a last supper kind of thought). I considered a turkey sandwich from Starbucks (450 cal). And then it hit me - it doesn't matter what I eat, I just need to eat. I mean, yes, it does matter what I choose, but I don't have to give in to a craving or desire just because I'm hungry. So I settled on a salad (from home) with deli turkey (do you see a pattern here?) and guess what? I was full. For probably a 1/3 of the calories that I normally would have consumed had gone with impulse.

I weighed myself today for an official starting weight, and I'm up three pounds from Monday. (I didn't do it first thing in the morning, I still had my jammies on, and it's probably water weight. I'm not stressing).

So my BMI on Day 1 is....27.9.

Long term goal: BMI of 25.0

Short term goal: I'd like to see some scale movement by my birthday (two weeks from now)

Shorter term goal: eat well for the next three days

Really, really short term goal: Make it through boot camp tonight

Reward if I make my shorter term goal: Enjoy a dinner with friends on Saturday night, guilt-free

What are your goals? What are you telling yourself?

One topic that I have not really addressed seriously in this blog is the topic of weight. Weight gain, weight loss, baby weight...blah, blah, blah. Aside from a few silly comments about an ill-fitting dress or bathing suit, quite frankly, I'm bored with the topic of weight. Because I've been there, done that, and in my opinion, it's rather tired.

But I received an email from a friend this weekend that put it into new light for me; namely, how do some women (read: the Bikini Babes) snap back into shape so quickly post-baby, and some women don't? It's kind of like a genetic lottery, it seems - depending on your numbers, either you are blessed or cursed with an inherent predisposition to either keep weight on or shed it quickly. I like to think that I'm from hearty Irish stock that needed to keep weight on in order to survive cold Irish winters.

Of course, that doesn't explain the Tollhouse cookie ice cream sandwich I ate yesterday, but whatever. I'm not a geneticist.

But I'm also not 100% happy with my body, either. Cold Irish winters aside, I wouldn't mind not feeling the need to dive immediately underwater at the start of swim lessons. I wouldn't mind fitting into more than 30% of my current clothing selection. I would like to not sweat while I eat (editor's note: this not only doesn't happen, but I shamelessly stole this line from Jen Lancaster. Sorry, it just seemed fitting. And hilarious, much like Ms. Lancaster herself.)

And over the weekend, I ran across this old photo of me, circa 2006:

I've never posted a picture of myself on the blog before, because I have always felt that this is Scotty's story, not mine. But for purposes of example, I looked at this picture and thought, "Man! I was skinny!"

Not "Wow, I was so happy!" but skinny. Because I think we're all old enough to know that the number on the scale does not dictate happiness.

And let me tell you, it was a low number on the scale when this picture was taken. We were three days out from the wedding, on honeymoon in Oahu at the (now closed) Dole Pineapple farm. And despite the large smile on my face (attributed mainly to large, soft-serve pineapple ice cream cone in front of me), I was not a happy camper. At all. In fact, that ice cream cone was probably the only thing keeping me going at that point. Our wedding had been a disaster, I was still shell-shocked, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw Storm Troopers.

(if you don't know the story, I'm not even going to get into it. Sorry.)

So yeah, in terms of weight, I don't see a happy person in this picture, just a skinny one. And not surprisingly, the 22 lbs I had lost for the wedding came back within a year, plus ten more.

Which is why when I ask myself in present time, "Should I lose weight? Should I jump on that wagon again?" the only response I keep coming up with is...no.  I just don't care. Now, that kind of a response is a bit of a red flag for anyone in the field of psychology. I don't care? First thought: depression. But I did a full-body scan for any symptom of depression (Mood = fine, sleep = great when I can get it, appetite = normal, energy = good, no suicidal thoughts, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness. Depression scan = a-okay) and came up with nothing. I think it's because at this point in the game, I know that losing weight doesn't make your life better, and gaining weight doesn't make it worse. It's just a number on the scale.

So what is the point of this whole post? Well, I would like to feel healthier. And right now, the only number I'm looking at is my BMI - body mass index. Which is saying that yes, I am overweight. Despite the fact that I am four pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight, I am exactly 15 lbs heavier than a 'healthy' BMI of 25.0.  So me minus 15 lbs = healthier, yes? Sounds doable.

I think is a great starting point.  This is reasonable goal, one that will hopefully see me fitting into my clothes better, feeling less self-conscious at swim lessons, and producing an over-all increase in energy throughout the day.

I don't want to become a Diet Zombie -- you know, the girlfriend who has that slightly crazy look in her eye whenever you sit down at a restaurant. The one who watches you bring you fork to your mouth with a glimmer of both intense jealousy and slight disgust. The one who never stops talking about her cardio routine or last workout. I've been that person and I don't like it.

I want to eat healthier, be more active, and just see what happens. As a fan of the scientific method, why not?

And I'd like to invite you to join me - maybe you are a new mom, too, that pulled an unlucky number in the genetic weight lottery. Or maybe you are having a baby and are worried how you are going to shed not only your baby weight but also your rekindled love for double-stuffed Oreos once the little fella joins us. Or maybe you don't have kids at all, but wouldn't mind feeling healthier. Whatever the reason, just do it.

The rules:  every Wednesday, I hereby dub it "Weigh-in Wednesday." I'll be posting my stats, as well as a recap of the week. Feel free to share yours, or just read about my progress (or lack thereof - ha!). I'll also be posting a recipe or work-out that I found helpful, and if you've got one, please share it. But no processed diet plans -- Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, etc -- I think they are all gimmicks. If you want to lose weight, then let's do it the natural way: fewer calories and more exercise. Considering dieting in this country is a multi-billion dollar industry, I'd like people to learn the right way to eat (myself included) and not rely on a program that works up until the moment you go off of it. (Weight Watchers is kosher, in my opinion...you eat real food and learn portion control.)

I figure we can do this until the end of the year and then actually be ahead of the game come New Year's. So, let me know what you think. It will be an interesting experiment!

Today is Monday and my BMI is currently 27.4.