The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Hold on to your seats this is going to be a long! And it won't be filled with pictures...it's about me & frankly I'm not too keen on taking pictures of me right now.

Here we go...

The Good:

I've lost 30 pounds in the 6 weeks after Libbie's birth.

The Bad:

Those 30 pounds aren't the only pounds I have to lose. I have about 13 more to go to get to pre-Libbie weight.

The Ugly:

I have another 10 to lose to get to pre-Landon and I'ld like to lose another 7!

So, though I've lost 30 pounds. I have another 30 still to lose! Yikes! I know you, mostly the women, reading think are asking themselves, "why is Kelley making this public?" Well, I figure that if I tell people about my quest to lose 30, I might actually get on board & go for the ride!

I figure I might as well be completely honest in this post. I definitely gained more weight with Libbie than I did with Landon. I told myself during my pregnancy that I was going to get on a major weight loss plan once I had Libbie and I thought, why not make it public??? My mother thought I was crazy, and frankly I think I am a bit, too. My goal isn't to get model ready but to get to a place where I'm content with my body and if I don't lose the full 30, I just want to get close and re-dedicate myself to being healthy and happy. So, how do I plan to do it???? I'm not quite sure, probably the only way I know how...RUN and eat healthy!!!!!

THE PLAN:

I started working on my plan two weeks ago, with the help of Andrew. Technically, I wasn't supposed to start until last Monday because that would be exactly 6 weeks since I delivered Libbie, but I need to get going. We started walking about 2 miles at night, after dinner. Not only are we exercising but it gives us time to catch up on our days with no chores or screaming children getting in the way. We were pushing Landon in our single jogger and Andrew would carry Libbie in the chest carrier. We new this would only work for so long so a week ago we purchased a double jogger, which has worked out wonderfully.

I spent all summer debating on a new stroller to get, mostly due to the fact that all summer long, Landon fought me (my mom can vouch for this) everytime I needed him in the stroller. I wasnted a BOB stroller but couldn't fathom spending the money (~$600) if Landon was still going to fight me. I researched and asked for suggestions from friends and decided to go with a less expensive double jogger, Baby Trend's Expedition (~$200). I was still hesitant with this purchase but Landon has been great and I love the stroller! We haven't been jogging with it but that is soon to come.

With this task out of the way, I knew I could really get started with the fitness part of the plan. We are on a plan of getting back into running condition. We are currently searching for a 5k to run in Dec. Then we'll continue running and finding races. I have figured out that in order for me to stay focused with running, I need a goal. What's better than having a race to train for as my goal. My major goal with running is to be 1/2 marathon ready this spring!

Now that I have been given the "go ahead" by my doctor, my Golds Gym membership will be getting some good use, especially with the winter months ahead. While I'm on maternity leave, my plan is to go to at least 2 classes during the week (days Landon is at daycare) and 1 class on the weekend. If you are Golds member and don't take the classes, you should! I love body pump, a lifting class and body combat, an aerobics with mixed martial arts class. the body combat is great when you have lots of aggression & stress to relieve. This will come in handy when I'm back at school!

So there's the fitness plan...get back into running condition in order to complete a 1/2 marathon this spring and get back going to Golds.

Now the eating plan. This is the tougher one for me. My major goal with this is to TRY and eat better. I know I'm going to have to work harder at my fitness plan because this one will suffer. I know extreme diets don't work for me for a couple of reasons: 1. they are too hard to maintain after the weight loss 2. I usually drop it soon after starting because I'm eating nothing or very restricted. So, no extreme diet. Also, I can't completely cut out sweets (mostly chocolate), fried foods, or any other yummy foods that are not the best for you. If I cut them out completely I know I'll eventually give in and binge! So, no giving up the "yummy" foods. This leaves me to TRY and eat better. I need to be conscious in my efforts in making healthy choices. Just my luck to be doing this during the holiday season, especially with a trip to Florida with all our favorite eating spots just around the corner! All I can do is try and if I slip up, I'll just have to run that much more!!!

To help me on this quest, I am getting support from Andrew (he's on his own journey, he just doesn't have as much to lose.). I'm keeping a written log of my weekly weight and daily activities so I can see the progress I am making. I probably should log what I'm eating but I have decided to hold off on that. The other part of this is to keep a weekly blog journal, probably every monday (I'll have to come up with a catchy title for those posts). In the posts, I'll let you know (the two people who read this) how the last week went in general, how much activity (classes & walk/run) was accomplished, how did I felt and, of course, the amount of weight lost.

I am trying to be realistic about all this and don't expect there to major pounds lost each week, though I wouldn't have a problem with it. I'm hoping for about 8-10 pounds loss by the time I'm back at school (Dec 17), but not bound by it. I know some weeks there will be great loss, some there will be no loss, and there will be other with the dreaded gain! I just have to keep telling myself to keep going and encouragement form all of you would be greatly appreciated!

Wish me luck as I being my journey!