Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts

Thursday, May 23, 2013

One Week Postpartum

Zane's been here a week. (Read all about his first week here.) On my last pregnancy update I looked like this....


That was just a few days before Zane came into this world. At one week postpartum I'm now looking like this...


....and feeling GREAT! It's so nice to be back to a size that doesn't make me feel like a moose. (Though yes I still have quite the booty!)

I think I am probably about the size that I was at week 20 or 21.


Total Weight Gain: 33lbs (8lbs more than I wanted to. I really packed them on at the end.)
Postpartum Weight Loss: 15lbs  
Clothing: Still rocking the pregnancy jeans. They fit so comfortably over my belly which is still trying to firm up. (The first few days it felt like a waterbed!) I haven't tried on too many of my old clothes but I'm guessing that they probably fit like they did at 21 weeks. This week I'm cycling through three different nursing tanks until I decide to stop being lazy and look through my closet for clothes that will make breastfeeding easy.
Stretch Marks: Got away stretch mark free. :)
Sleep: Trying to get sleep when I can. Getting rest when Zane does isn't always an option as I try often find myself unable to sleep. At night I wake up pretty easily with Zane for feedings and tend to get to sleep again quickly.
Best moment of the week: Meeting my son. Seeing his face and hearing him cry for the first time changed me forever. He's so perfect!
Missing Anything?: I miss feeling Zane kick and get the hiccups.
Happy or Moody: Happy! With the exception of Zane's weight concerns, I've been a very happy lady. I'm definitely paying attention to my moods. I think being aware of how I'm feeling will help me catch signs of postpartum depression if they should arise.
Wedding Rings On or Off: Off. My hands are still a bit swollen, and the extra weight I'm still carrying doesn't help. My right hand is starting to get feeling again so the carpel tunnel seems to be fading. My joints and knuckles are still sore and achy.
Recovery: After seven days I'm feeling wonderful. (The human body is seriously amazing.) The first few days after having Zane I was obviously sore, achy, and tired. Thanks to Zac, I was able to stay in bed and rest. Walking around was difficult and our stairs were no fun. After 5 days I was back to walking around and feeling very close to "normal". The last two days I've run errands with Zac and have been able to keep up rather than waddling slowly behind him. Chores don't wear me out, though I don't have to worry about them because Zac is always two steps ahead of me. All cramping has ceased and I feel good. The only lingering pain is a sore back.

Postpartum week one has been pretty good to me. I'm definitely looking forward to getting my body back, not just to what it was right before I got pregnant, but what it was when I was actually in shape.

Before I got pregnant I looked like this....


I felt good at this size but there has been a time when I have felt better. Two years before that picture was taken, I was working out regularly, eating very well, and just taking care of myself. I felt amazing and I was super happy and proud. I'd love to get back to that....


It's not going to happen quickly. It's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to get back to that but the work is worth it. Thankfully I have a great support system. Back when I was working out all the time and keeping up a well balanced diet, Zac was, too. We challenged each other, motivated one another, and held each other accountable. I miss our jogging dates in the park. Throughout my pregnancy our mini dates have consisted of vegging out on the couch and munching on junk food. I'm definitely looking forward to having fun healthy dates again.

Friday, May 13, 2011

The 20/20 Challenge

The final day of instruction is over and graduation is just 10 short days away! The weekend of graduation will be quite eventful. As I mentioned here my girls Sarah and Amanda will be here on the 17th and they're bringing along little Grayson! Zac's parents will also be coming into town and we have a fun weekend planned:

- My finals end on Wednesday May 18th. (WHOO HOO!)
- Thursday May 19th there is an appreciation dinner for Fresno READS tutors and interns. I had such a great time at my internship and this will be such a nice way to end the experience.
- On Friday May 20th I am going dress shopping with my mom, Zac's mom, and my three bridesmaids, Sarah, Amanda, and Amy. That evening Sarah has planned an engagement dinner for Zac and I. It should be a super fun night with the fam bam and our bridal party.
- The next morning, Saturday May 21 is graduation day! Following the morning ceremony, Zac and I will be inviting our families and a few friends over to our place to enjoy a post graduation bbq.
- On Sunday May 22, some of my girls and I will enjoy an end of the weekend brunch get together before my friend Claire and I head off to a co-worker's baby shower.


So, after the weekend is over, the family visitors have gone, and the thrill of graduation has subsided my datebook will have gone from this :



To this:


It may look a little sad to some people, but an empty week in this datebook is a sigh of relief to me! After having every day filled with work, school, homework assignments, studying, and a little bit of wedding planning, I will gladly take a week off to do.....nothing. Don't get me wrong, the wedding planning part of it has been fun, and I seriously look forward to filling more days in my datebook up with appointments and projects up until the big day, but it will certainly be nice to have a little time off.

So what will I be doing with my time? This is a question I have been getting a lot lately. More specifically it is asked in regards to my future career choices. While I haven't quite figured out my post grad job opportunities, I have at least given thought to what I will be doing to occupy my summer time. For the last little while I have been looking over photos from last year and I will be the first to point out that I look different this summer than I did last summer. The last two semesters have taken a lot of my time and energy to get through them and unfortunately I became neglectful of myself. As a result my clothes have gotten a little tighter and I've felt less energetic. Just take a look at this photo comparison for yourself:

                                                  July 2010                           January 2011


Needless to say, I have set a goal for myself to return to my summer of 2010 weight. This is not only for appearances (although yes I think I looked a lot better back then) but it has more to do with feeling good. At this time last year I felt energized and ready to take on the day. My mornings were spent either running in the park or getting in a good workout at the gym. I ate delicious, fresh foods (prepared mostly by my sweet Zac), and I made time to relax and wind down. With school being over (for the time being) I will now have time to get back to that. I definitely look forward to feeling that good again (and being able to fit into my cute clothes from last year will definitely be a nice bonus!).

In addition to having more time to get back to feeling good, I will also have plenty of time to do my favorite thing....READ! The last two semesters have really taken a lot of work and most of my "free" time has gone to studying, homework, or other school related activities. After graduation I will finally have some time to make a dent in the newest additions to my library. For my birthday, Zac's parents got me a gift certificate for Amazon.com and I happily went on a shopping spree for new books. I was super excited everytime a large envelope appeared in my mailbox.



These eight books are now sitting on the shelf in the library, and I am anxious to start reading!


So now for the reason behind the post....the 20/20 challenge. This summer, starting from Monday May 23rd and ending Monday August 29th, my goal is to lose 20lbs and read 20 books. That's 14 weeks (98 days) to accomplish both goals. In the past I have lost 25lbs in 7 weeks, so I am confident that I will be able to reach my goal before the end of the summer challenge. Last summer I read 15 books before having to go back to school. It was so nice to be able to read for pleasure rather than for homework. I really look forward to spending my mornings working out and my afternoons engrossed in a book!

Zac will be a big help for me in accomplishing the first goal. He has been so supportive in the past, preparing delicious and healthy meals, keeping junk food out of the house, joining me for morning laps around our neighborhood and the park, and reminding me that it's okay to indulge every once in a while. I'm sure he'll be just as happy to get back on track. We've both been feeling a little sluggish lately as we've been indulging a little too much these days.

As for the reading challenge here is a look at the books I have selected:




My Amazon order included:

- Official Book Club Selection - by Kathy Griffin
- Good in Bed - by Jennifer Weiner
- Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea - by Chelsea Handler
- Tip It! - by Maggie Griffin
- Sing You Home - by Jodi Picoult
- Something Borrowed - by Emily Giffin
- Something Blue - by Emily Giffin
- Baby Proff - by Emily Giffin

In addition to these books I am also hoping to read:

- The Murderer's Daughters - by Randy Susan Meyers (Amy let me borrow this book and said that it was really good. I've already started to read it and it's really good so far.)
- Certain Girls - by Jennifer Weiner (the book that follows Good in Bed)
- All 7 Harry Potter books (Sarah let me borrow these books a long time ago and I never got around to reading them. It's time to finally sit down and enjoy them. Maybe a Harry Potter movie marathon will be in order afterwards. Also, it looks like she's missing book #5 so if anyone has it and is willing to let me borrow it for a little while I would appreciate it.)
- Eclipse and Breaking Dawn from the Twilight series (Also on loan from Miss Sarah :D)
- Enchantment: The Life Of Audrey Hepburn - by Donald Spoto
- Alice's Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass- both by Lewis Carroll

In order to reach my goal by the end of the challenge, I will need to read one book about every 5 days. I definitely think this is doable. Plus it should be fun to finally read all these books that have just been sitting around waiting to be read. :)

In the meantime, if anyone has any helpful, healthy tips to keep me on focus, or any great book suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.

Does anyone else have plans for the summer? Fun trips? Events or parties to look forward to? Goals to accomplish? Please feel free to share. :)