Slowly Coming along

sorry. I've been terrible about posting eh?
I'm just tired I guess.

Still trying to run and eat well but I think I've gained a few pounds this holiday.
I'm putting myself on a diet soon. I feel the need to look better in my clothes and put away the last of the pregnancy gear.

I'll get there. Just a little slower this time around than after my previous babies. Who cares. Well I do but I just need to find the motivation to get moving already.

Another Date night, Another Run

Amazing how ALL of life's problem seem to have a solution after a good run. Again I highly recommend running before getting ready for a night out.

You feel energized, your circulation flows better, you feel better in your nice clothes, and help your body to start burning up those extra holiday calories.

Exercise before a DATE!

We had Date night last night.

We went for a run together and then headed out for Supper.
Running together is special for us and I'm glad we have physical fitness in common.
Doing it together reminds us of why we fell in love and what we have in common.

We also have eating in common and going out for a great supper with friends was nice too. Running before hand allows us to feel better about drinking a little wine and eating more food. Also helps me to feel better in my clothes.

All in all exercise before a date is highly recommended ;)

Kicked the Caffeine Habit this Week.

My husband and I have been off Caffeine now for a week. yes you heard me right. I wanted to see if it was my coffee consumption that was causing our baby to NOT SLEEP. The answer is no, she is still quite cranky and ahem....colicky. but whatever. Not the point.

Point is that I feel WAY more awake without coffee throughout the day. I think I am a little less cranky too which is more important for EVERYONE in this house.

Caffeine also raises cortisol levels which keeps the fat from coming off so that is an added bonus.

That is all I have for now. I may be awake but 10 weeks of lack of sleep has left my brain kind of empty for anything worthy of blogging/reading about. Sorry.

Oh...and the ONLY way I could kick the morning coffee was if my husband did it too...So we have been trying tricking ourselves by drinking decaf. Soon we will be off of it completely.

Sharing What We Love

Yesterday I ran a race with my daughter. It was the Santa Shuffle and it was only a Mile, but it was AMAZING. It was so nice to share something I love to do with one of my children.
The best part was how well she did. I could see her becoming a runner one day. I want that for her and for all of my children. For them to find an outlet for their stress. For them to find something they like to do that helps them feel alive.

It was a good day.
A really good day.

EXCUSES...EXCUSES

Things are not going well. I'm not yet sleeping through the night, the weather is turning rainy and crappy, I don't seem to have a minute to breathe yet alone get out the door for a run. At night I'm exhausted as well so don't feel like doing my exercise video at night.

EXCUSES....EXCUSES....

If I want to fit back into any of my pants and lose these last 15 pounds I need to set a routine and just DO IT. I need to FORCE myself out of my comfort zone and get out the door for a quick run.

The hardest part of a journey is taking the first step. I think it is a momentum thing and right now my feet want to stay firmly planted. I am noticing my moods taking a nose dive however, so I need to start to get 'fit' again for more reasons than one.

That's it! I just Gotta Do it!

I'm Trying

I have to sheepishly admit that I have not been very consistent with my new running plan. Two weeks ago I headed out the door when I really should have just gone to bed and I paid for it. I woke up the next day with a fever and have been fighting the cold that just won't die for two weeks now.

I felt better yesterday and the sun was out so out I went. It was a fabulous run, reminding me that I am alive. I continue to be amazed at what running does to me. I always feel refreshed and new. I think because running is about me and ONLY me. It is me and the pavement and the sound of my breath.

I am only able to go for 20 minutes or so at this point, but it is worth it...sooooooo worth it.

Lullaby Exercises...a postpartum workout

Getting my heart rate up for 30 mins EVERYDAY is already proving difficult for me. With 4 kids, crappy weather and flu season, heading out the door or driving to the YMCA is going to be challenging.

So...I've decided to try some exercise videos.

This one was sent to me by Darcy, creator of Chicks and Chickens. It is a babywearing exercise video. Since I have a baby that seriously SCREAMS at me for 2 hours EVERY NIGHT for no reason and I have to hold her for the entire two hours, I thought it would be a great opportunity to try the baby wearing video.

Voila!! Within 5 minutes of starting the exercise video she fell asleep! Thank you Lullaby Exercises!!!

The video was perfect for my postpartum body. Not too intense but enough that I felt the workout afterwards. It has different segments for arms,legs,abs,and cardio. The last part focuses on soothing your baby to sleep and relaxing to gentle music. I did not find the cardio portion long enough for me, but I did REALLY enjoy the relaxing part. I liked having Darcy remind me to just enjoy my baby. I think I will use the extra music CD and put it in Audrey's room for my long...long nights!!

I can see myself turning to this video nightly to soothe Audrey to sleep while getting a little exercise in...Especially for the 6-12 weeks postpartum when my body is ready to start moving but still needs gentle movement.

The Big Day Has Arrived

Well, this is it. THE BIG DAY. Audrey and I are officially 6 weeks postpartum. Time to get this body back into shape and into my pre pregnancy jeans.

I have 15 pounds or so to lose. It will take a while for it all to come off but my shape should start to turn soon enough. I find when breastfeeding my body will hold onto the extra fat until 3-6 months postpartum but I would be able to do up my jeans in 8 weeks or so.

This time will be MUCH different than the last. Last time it was summer, the hours were longer and the weather much nicer.
Now it is dark at 5pm and the weather is going to be crispy and snowy.

What worked last time was a half hour run or bike everyday for 6 days a week for 6 weeks.
This time because of the lack of daylight and cold, I will try to just get my heart rate up for half an hour everyday.

This will include running, biking, YMCA elliptical, and yoga. I'm also thinking because of this whole Swine Flu crap, I'm not going to be dropping my kids off at the YMCA play care very often. So, for the first time in my life I may have to become a work out video queen....we will see how that goes. Could be fun.

As for diet, this is my plan so far.....

Water,water, and more water,
2 eggs every morning after coffee of course;)
NO eating after supper...not even a snack
Cutting out crappy food. No deserts or candy ;(
Making sure I eat half of what my husband does (since he is almost double my size).

That is it for now. I need to eat as I will be adding exercise to breastfeeding so I'll be burning more calories. Besides, at this point if I just cut out the sweets and sugar and extra snacking that should be enough.

Diet Busters

Hmmmm....this loot of candy may NOT help me get back into my pants. Crap.