New Beginnings!

Well hello there!  It's been a LONG time but it's time to get on the wagon again.  The twins are adorable (almost 9 months!) and Will (2yrs) is doing great!  Things are still insane but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to get my house in order.

After delivering the twins I did not just well but great!  I got down well below my pre-pregnancy weight (see photo above) and then things got crazy.  Jason was working for a start-up that made some extreme changes that left a lot of folks, us included, in the lurch.  With Ella's kidney condition, we really couldn't afford to be without insurance; but thankfully, I used worked with some amazing people and when I called to see if there was a place for me on short notice they answered with a surprising, yes!  It was wonderful and terrible to be back at work again. I'm now back to being solely a professional mom but I brought some "baggage" with me;).

I returned to some bad eating habits (Downtown Palo Alto has some GREAT places to eat.) which has brought me back to this point.  Time to start fresh!  Tomorrow, our wonderful French neighbor is making us an incredible meal so starting tomorrow with calorie counting won't be helpful but come Thursday I'll be back to blogging and counting.  Feel free to meet me here and start with me if you're interested.  Even if you're not a current editor I'll be happy to add you if you'd like to join me!  Just shoot me an email or a text and I'll get you set up.

See you Thursday!  Merry Christmas!

Kaisi: Catch up!

Hi Ladies, It's been a couple days since I have posted... Don't fret though, I am still counting calories and rocking this diet! I have just had ZERO time to post with my little munchkins birthday yesterday, the party this weekend and family coming into town. I have actually been really good eating and exercising except for yesterday and even then I just fudged from dinner on. Sadie LOVES fettucini alfredo so I made it for her for dinner and she and I both chowed down. It was yummers, especially the breadsticks (thanks again Katie) and because it was her FIRST birthday we gave her a cupcake instead of making a whole cake and I got just enough for us each to have one (so there would be no more temptation in the house)

Marc, my husband always says you have to give yourself a little room for fudging in a diet or else you will never stick to it and I agree! Last night was tasty, but after I finished I felt full. When you are dieting and hungry usually you long to be full, but if you think about it being full isn't really that great of a feeling. So... given the choice I'd do it again, but only because of the occasion!. I really do feel a lot better when I am eating healthier and in smaller portions.

I don't know that I will be able to post until Sunday, so looking ahead I plan to continue dieting and eating under 1200 calories and get to the gym (if I have time.) Saturday we are having a birthday party with friends and family in the afternoon, so I will most likely have more than 1200 calories that day, but I'll be wise about my portions and hopefully continue to loose weight!

Post again in a few days..... Hope you girls are doing great.

Katie Day 4 & 5

Hi all I know I haven't blogged for the last 2 days. I have just been really tired at night, but don't worry I have been really good and right within my calorie count! I agree with what Kaisi said a few days ago, its getting easier and easier to count calories and I am feeling less and less hungry. I think that those first couple of days on a diet are the toughest cause you have to retrain your tummy to realize that it doesn't need all that extra food! Anyhow, my little guy is taking a nap and I want to do the same so I will be quick. Here is my run down for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday :

Breakfast : 340 Calories

Cinnamon/Raisin toast 2 slices

Starbucks Kids hot chocolate no whip fat free milk

Lunch : 249 Calories

Laughing cow wedge

Grilled Chicken 1.5 oz

Tortilla

Dinner : 290 Calories

Pot roast 3 oz

Mini Red Potatoes 8

Fat Free Sour Cream 4 Tbs

Snacks : 420 Calories

Skinny Cow Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Cone (My new FAVORITE treat)

Mini Pinkberry

Cinnamon toast 3/4 cup with 1/2 cup skim milk

Total Calories 1299

Excercisd 45 Min walk burned 156 calories

Sunday :

Breakfast : 120 Calories

Chocolate Protein Shake

Lunch : 401 Calories

French Dip - 2.8 oz Roast, 1/2 Tbs mayo, 1 slice Provolone cheese, Ciabatta Roll

Dinner : 212 Calories

1 Cup grilled zucchini

5 oz Grilled Chicken

Snacks : 404

Milano Cookies 3

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cone

Strawberries 1 Cup

Whipped Cream 4 Tbs

Total Calories 1108

Exercise 30 minute walk : 104 Calories Burned

Until Tonight . . . Happy Dieting!

Kaisi: Day 5

Hi! Tonight is going to be quick.... I am tired!! My mom was coming into town today to help me get things ready for Sadie's Birthday Party next weekend and not knowing what we would do for lunch/dinner had me eating light in the morning to save my calories!. Then I went for a walk trying to burn more, just in case we ended up going out I wanted to have all the calories available to me that I could. We ended up making a list of everything we needed and were crazy busy until about 8:30 tonight. We grabbed subway along the way and by the time she left I thought to myself, I should have dinner, but I am just so tired I almost didn't care. I made fajitas anyways which will be good to have leftovers tomorrow afternoon/evening. So here are my stats....

Breakfast: 200 Calories
Slim Fast w/ fat free milk

Snack: 90 Calories
Carb Smart Tortilla

Lunch: 626 Calories
Footlong turkey and ham flatbread with MUSTARD ( I know... MUSTARD! I am trying to get off mayo and mustard is 0 calories, so I thought I would give it a go. What a weird change!) Also...(this was split up in two lunches... kinda. 1/2 at 12:30 ish and the other at 3:00ish.)

Dinner: 362 Calories
Chicken Fajitas on carb smart tortilla w/ avocado.

Total Calories: 1278 Calories

Workout: 436 Calories (give or take a few. I didn't time my walking this afternoon, just a rough estimate)
Walking, walking more and more and more..... LOTS of walking today!!

Well, I'm off to bed. Until tomorrow!!

P.S. A little side note I want to remember that I was thinking this morning... I have weighed myself every morning since this diet began (I know, bad idea) and I haven't even lost a pound yet. It kills me that I haven't mentally, but at the same time I know I have done so much muscle work it's probably that I can't just go off weight. I should have measured. I was thinking throughout the day that it's funny when you go off your diet for 5-7 days you hope you haven't put on weight, but then when you go back on your diet you can get upset it isn't coming off quickly. Anyways, I am at .8lb lost so to curb my mental lashing hopefully tomorrow will be the big break through I have been hoping for the last 2 days. Cross you're fingers!! :)

Katie Day 3

Let me just say in the beginning of this post that getting back on the diet wagon is proving to be a bit of a challenge for me :( I had the munchies ALL day! I didn't give into the sweet tooth during the day, but still it was hard! I also didn't really keep track of my calories, I started out good in the morning with my usual cereal and milk but then for lunch Dan wanted Thai food so we went out to this YUMMY new Thai restaurant and I have no idea how many calories I ate there. I did keep my portion of Masaman Curry small and I only had a little rice, but again I don't know how many calories are in the Chicken Curry and rice that I did eat. I wanted seconds soooo badly but I did practice some self control and just had one serving. Then we went on a walk Dan pretty much totally talked me into walking cause I wanted to go back home and take a nap, but Im glad we went on a walk. After our walk I had the munchies big time so when we got home I got out my homemade guac and pop chips and ate some. But here is where I failed, I don't know how many chips I had or how much guac I ate. I should have counted out 1/2 portion of chips and measured out my guac cause that would have satisfied me and I would have known how much I consumed. For dinner I didn't feel like cooking and making a mess in the kitchen so we went out to Sweet Tomatoes and I did good there, but I don't know for sure the calories I consumed. I don't think I ate that many calories cause I had a good salad with greens and veggies, 1 Tbs of raisins, 1 Tbs of sunflower seeds, and 1 scoop of egg. Kaisi taught me the best trick ever for salad dressing, instead of pouring the dressing on the salad just dip your fork into the dressing and then pick up a bite of salad. That way you eat way less dressing but still get the yummy taste of fat full ranch! INGENIOUS!!! I also had 1/2 a slice of bread with about 1 tsp of honey butter on it, and a small amount of chocolate yogurt. Dinner was nice and satisfying, but as I said before I don't know how many calories I ate :( I agree with the pointers that Shelley gave, I do WAAAAY better when I figure out before hand my calories before I go into a restaurant, I was just lazy yesterday and didn't do it. But that is just a dumb idea cause I feel so much better about dieting when I take a few minutes and figure out what I am going to eat.

Since I am posting this on Saturday morning, let me just say that I am PROUD of myself today already!! I went to Safeway this morning to get stuff for dinner as I am making a roast in the crock pot and needed carrots and beef stock. Anyhow I think I would have given my left leg to have a doughnut from the bakery, those doughnuts were pretty much shouting my name today as I walked into the store. Sooo I didn't even go close to the bakery!! I knew that if I saw a doughnut I would be able to resist buying one, and I made it out of the store doughnut free. YAY! I did buy some skinny cow ice-cream sandwiches so that tonight when I want Dan to make more no bake cookies I will eat a skinny cow instead :)

Until tonight ... Happy Dieting!!!

Kaisi: Day 4

Hi ladies! Today was a strange day. I woke up a bit later then I usually do (I love how good our little munchkin sleeps) so I kinda had 2 lunches and a dinner... I did end up going for a walk in the middle of a day and quickly squeezed in a workout this evening. It was a good day and I felt pretty good about what I ate. I am starting to get over that hungry feeling and am getting full off meals and lunches instead of longing for more. Tonight at dinner I really wanted another muffin because it tasted so good (who doesn't love sweet tomatoes muffins) but I wasn't hungry so I didn't eat it and when we left I was really glad I didn't. I didn't need it and I wasn't stuffed when we left which is a great feeling!! Here are my stats.....

Breakfast: 445 Calories
Bagel thin Turkey and Ham sandwich w/ mayo, avocado and Cheddar Cheese.

Lunch: 318 Calories
Bagel thin egg sandwich w/ mayo

Dinner: 452 Calories
Salad w/ peas, beets, sunflour seeds and carrots dipped w/ 1tsp ranch.
Wild Blueberry Muffin
Dark Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

Snack: 105 Calories
Medium Banana

Total Calories: 1320 Calories

Workout: 580 Calories burned
Elliptical Trainer 40 minutes
Walking, slow pace 45 minutes
Situps: 15

I was at 1200 calories almost exactly when I finished w/ dinner then my hubs told me that I needed to eat more if I am burning so much calories working out. Otherwise my body goes into starvation mode and starts storing fat. So that is why I had the banana after my workout.

I am SOOOOOOOOO sore from my workout yesterday. I felt like I could barely do anything today, so I am glad I made the time to get to the gym to try and work that acid outta my muscles.

Until tomorrow..........

Katie Day 2 (for the 100th time it seems)

Today I actually did a good job! I stayed within my calorie count and although I had severe munchies and wanted junk food, I was strong and didn't eat the junk! GO ME :) I also rearranged my house a bit and moved some furniture all by myself so I definitely think that counts as a work out! BTW let me just give a small shout out to Kaisi, way to go work out tonight! After you guys left I sat on the couch and watched tv and folded laundry. No way did I even think about getting off my Gluteus Maximus to exercise :) And CONGRATS Shelley on your adorable new additions to your family! The twins are beautiful!!! You get some rest and when you are ready to diet again we will be your cheering squad :)

Well its late and I am tired so here are my stats for today :

Breakfast : I changed it up a bit and had a chocolate protein shake - 120 Calories

Lunch: 1 String Cheese and 1 Cup Noodles with meat sauce - 340 Calories

Dinner: Chicken Fajitas, Carb Smart Tortilla, 1 oz Pop Chips, 1/4 Cup Guacamole - 457 Calories

Snacks: Yoplait Delights Grasshopper Pie Yogurt Parfait (TOTALLY YUMMY), Mini York Peppermint Patty, 2 Mini Reeses PB Cups - 258 Calories

Total Calories: 1200!!

Until Tomorrow ... Happy Dieting!

Kaisi: Day 3

Hey baby mamma's! Today was a great day. I really felt good about what I ate and was pretty much dead on in regards to my calorie goal. I had planned all day to have an earlier dinner and get a good workout in (a goal I am hoping to make more permanent) We did the earlier dinner (even though we were a little late, sorry again Katie!) but, instead of doing a workout right after we played games.... I know. I don't know why I am writing this like I am surprised, It's practically a given anytime we get together with the Henries so anyways.... when I came home I thought to myself, even though it's past 8 and I should be getting ready for bed I needed to "fake it" so I got it together and ran over to the gym. I got THE BEST workout in I have had in years. HoLy CoWs!!!. Afterword I literally couldn't hold my phone up without shaking. You'll see it in my stats below, but lets just put it this way.... there is a good chance I am not going to be able to squat down to pick up my child tomorrow. Any babysitting offers??? haha. JOKE! Really though, it felt really good and I am way glad I went. So, because I am running behind on getting to bed tonight I am going to cut this short. Here are my stats for the day....

Breakfast: 270 Calories
Zoom w/ 2tsp Sugar, 1 slice toast w/ ICBINB spray.

Lunch: 430 Calories
Bagel Thin Turkey n' Ham Sandwich w/ Mayo and Cheddar Cheese.

Snacks: 159 Calories
Fiber One Brownie, Hard Boiled Egg

Dinner: 323 Calories
Chicken Fajitas in carb smart tortilla w/ 1tbs sour cream.

Total Calories: 1182 Calories!

Workout: 293 Calories Burned
Cross Fit Circuit Training
-Squats: 300
-Push-Ups: 200
-Bicep Curls: 100
Situps: 4 sets of 12

I think I burned more calories than "my fitness pal" is telling me in my workout b/c it doesn't give you extra calories for the squats, pushups and curls, but that's ok... It's a general idea!!

Until tomorrow....

Big News!

Hi Ladies, it's been a while! So I decided I should give an update though I am not quite ready to hop on the weight loss wagon yet. A week ago today, I delivered two adorable little people. Ella Elizabeth and Cannon Churchill. Cannon was 7lbs 7oz, 21 inches long and Ella was 7lbs 1oz and 20 inches long. Needless to say I was carrying around a lot of baby.

Since I figured most of my family and friends wouldn't be interested in a play-by-play of delivery I thought I might post something here so that if they are, they can read about it. Feel free to ignore most of this post if this kind of thing is not something you are interested in.

On Tuesday night I started having fairly regular contractions and I knew from an appointment I'd had on Monday that I was already 4cm and 80% effaced. Because Ella was breech and I wanted a non-C-Section delivery I had to make sure to get to the hospital in time to get my OB there as many OBs won't even try to deliver one child breech let alone a second twin. With most other California OBs I would have been fast tracked to a C-Section but thanks to Dr. Rarick I had the option of a regular delivery but only if he was at the hospital at the time of delivery.

We finished packing the hospital bag and high-tailed it to the hospital where I handed over an Rx that my doctor had written for the nurses to CALL HIM IMMEDIATELY UPON ADMITTANCE. Apparently, even if you tell them they are supposed to call the doctor or even if it is in your chart they often choose to call the on-call doc because it is easier for them.

I labored for about an hour or two before we decided it was time for the epidural. I had to have an epidural in order to try vaginal delivery because of the manipulation often required to deliver a breech baby (which can apparently be very painful). At 6am they wheeled me into the operating room (just in case I needed an emergency C-Section) and as soon as the rest of the staff arrived (twins apparently warrant a lot of doctors and nurses) we started pushing. Cannon arrived in only two pushes. We waited for the next contraction after he was born and then I pushed for Ella. She also made it out in only two pushes. I was ecstatic! Compared to my first son this was practically a joke. Of course he was 9lbs 1oz and had a head in the 100th percentile so it's not really a fair comparison. I sent my husband to follow the twins and that's when things went south.

One of the placentas wouldn't detach. I began bleeding very heavily. In total, I lost a little over two liters of blood. They gave me a whole bunch of medications all at once including more epidural so they could make the surgical maneuvers they needed to remove the placenta and stop the bleeding. They put another IV in my other hand because they thought a transfusion would be likely and during all of this I was alone as I had sent Jason to make sure they twins were labeled properly and plenty of pictures and video were taken. I thought I saw my aunt at the door and asked to have them let her in so she could hold my hand but because she wasn't in surgical gear they wouldn't let her in. That's when Jason arrived back. My aunt took over watching over the twins and Jason (who was suited up) came to be my buddy as they worked. Finally, they were able to get everything under control but I was sick from all of the medications and the loss of blood.

It was a rough few days after that. I couldn't even take a warm shower because my veins would dilate and I would pass out. I was given a choice between a transfusion and a wait-and-see approach with medications to help my hemoglobin replenish. I chose the latter. My numbers did come up and I am excited to say I did not need a transfusion but because I chose not to have a transfusion my recovery has been a bit slower. It will take about three months before I'm back to completely normal but I'm actually feeling pretty good right now. Unfortunately, one of the medications they gave me to help with the hemoglobin is also very irritating to the veins and burned as it went through the IV. Not too big a deal except I had to have three doses. Well, not a big deal until after I went home. My wrist that had the IV swelled and hurt like crazy. I finally went in to see my doctor and they gave me some antibiotics as they thought it might be a combo of infection and irritation from the medication. My wrist is finally on the mend but it was a little sad for a while when I couldn't hold or hug my oldest son very well for a few days.

All in all though I have recovered well. I finished up the pregnancy weighing somewhere over 230lbs and yesterday I weighed in at 196lbs. I am going to let nature take its course for a while before trying to slim down as I am nursing and want to establish a good supply. In a few months, when I'm feeling more like myself and am hopefully getting more sleep I will be joining back in and counting my calories right along side you guys.

For now, keep up the good work and remember a few tips and tricks that work for me:

1. If I want something bad that is homemade I do the math to reduce the recipe to get exactly the serving size I want. I have actually made 2Tbsp of Icing before just because I really wanted the treat.
2. Just because you blow a meal doesn't mean the day is done. You can still eat like you would have and not have too great a loss.
3. Check the menu before you go. . .anywhere. A plan is always safer than a last minute decision. I have found if I plan ahead and know what I want to order, even if I don't stick exactly to the plan I do a better job of keeping it reasonable. (Darn those baskets of bread!!!!!!).
4. Don't beat yourself up. You guys are awesome and all we can do is try. Slow and steady is truly the best way to lose weight anyway. It's all about the lifestyle changes not the restriction.
5. I'm rooting for you! Keep up the good work. You guys are inspiring!

Talk to to you soon!
(P.S. Please excuse any misspelled or odd words. I am doing this from my phone and auto-correct is not always helpful:)).

Katie is Back and Diet Update

Hello everyone I know its been about a month since I have blogged and I am sorry and sad to say that I have NOT been dieting since I went home to visit family :( I ate waaaay yummy food though! The good news is I didn't gain a ton of weight only 2 pounds which is extremely surprising to me! However I still have about 10 pounds that I want to get rid of and I am having the HARDEST time being motivated to do it. So I hope that by blogging and confessing what I have been eating I will get motivated! On a side note WAY TO GO Kaisi on your working out the last few days! I should workout too but lets be honest I HATE the gym :) I do like to go for walks and I can't wait until the weather warms up a bit more so I can take my little guy swimming and do some laps.

I have decided not to write down all of the non diet food I have consumed the last few weeks, its in the past and that is where it will remain. Lets just say that doughnuts, scones, and cinnamon rolls tasted VERY YUMMY! Thanks mom for your AMAZING cooking! (Even though it makes it very hard for one to stay on ones diet)

I did start to keep track of my calorie intake yesterday and I did really good until the afternoon and then EVERYTHING fell apart :( So although this is embarrassing to admit I figure if I can admit when I am bad I will be motivated to be good.

For breakfast I had my usual cheerios and 1/2 cup milk - 148 calories

Lunch - Noodles and meat sauce 1 cup - 221 calories

Then I quit keeping track. I went to the mall and had the munchies and gave into a cinnamon/sugar pretzel that probably had a pound of butter on it, but it was good! And here is where my troubles start, since I had already blown my diet for the day I started on a downward spiral. I did ok for dinner as I made Monterey Chicken with salsa, bbq sauce (1 Tbs), and 1 slice of cheese. But I FAILED MISERABLY around 8:30 last night. I had the munchies and needed something sweet, so I batted my eyes and asked my sweetheart to make me no bake cookies! (he makes them better than me) GASP yes I had no bake cookies with all the butter, sugar, and peanut butter! FULL FAT YUMMINESS!! Not only did I eat 1 cookie oh no cause once I start I just can't stop so I had 2 1/2 :( I just can't say no to treats once I start! Yes, I did waaay bad yesterday, but today is a new day and I have high hopes that I will behave! Yes this was embarrassing to admit but this blog only works when I am honest with myself and you guys so there is my full honest day :)

Until tonight . . . Happy Dieting!

Kaisi: Day 2

Hello baby mamma's!. Today has been a good day. Back and forth hunger wise. I woke up and felt great! I had breakfast, worked... By lunch I wasn't even all that hungry, but I thought I needed to eat before it got to late in the day. After lunch I had some things I needed to do and as I was driving I was thinking, this is great! I am not even hungry, I feel great. Then I got home and it was all down hill from there. The rest of the day I've struggled with hunger. I wanted to snack, so I had carrots. I know.... raw carrots! I can hardly believe it myself. I was super proud of myself, but of course that didn't curb my hunger. By 5:00 I told my hubs either we have dinner together right then or he was on his own for the night. He choose to be on his own (there was leftover french toast in the fridge, lucky butt head!) So I had dinner. After I waited a bit and then headed to the gym. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO hard. First day back always is for me. I run 2 minutes and am breathing louder then a windmill in a storm, but it finally curved my appetite and I feel great for getting it in. I read a pretty awesome quote the other day that motivated me (I forget exactly what it said, but) it was something like on days you don't feel like working out, fake it!. So, that is my motto for now. Here are my stats today...

Breakfast: 233 Calories
Breakfast bagel thin w/ 1 egg and 1/4 an avocado.

Lunch: 313 Calories
Turkey n' Ham flatbread sub w/ lite mayo, S&P. (glad I didn't eat the other 1/2 yesterday)

Snack: 52 Calories
Raw Carrots

Dinner: 325 Calories
Bagel thin sandwich w/ Turkey, Ham, mayo, avocado, S&P

Total Calories: 923 (Really low I know. It's probably why I was starving. I should have eaten more when I was hungry, but I was worried about going over. Had I had more than a lunch meat sandwich for dinner I probably would have been right on. Live and learn...)

Workout: 268 Calories burned.
Side bends: 3 sets, 20 reps
Back Extension: 3 sets, 20 reps
Leg Extension: 4 sets, 12 reps
Leg Press: 4 sets, 15 reps
Elliptical Trainer (3 resistance, back pedal): 12 minutes
Running (5.2mph): 9 minutes
Walking (3.2mph): 11 minutes

I am wiped! Babies in bed, so I think I'll curl up on the couch and watch some good old fashion television till I fall asleep!

Shelly, Congratulations on the new little munchkins!! I can't wait to see them. Hope you're recovering well. As for the rest of you bloggin' ladies, hope you are doing well also!

Until tomorrow.....

Kaisi: Day 1 (Take 3)

OK, I am ashamed to say that because Katie went out of town and no one else was posting I completely stopped dieting while my family was in town. I am so disappointed because not only have I not lost weight & inches like I wanted to, I gained!. Ugh!. So, 1st day back home and I was back on! I hope you girls join me because I do better when I have others dieting with me and let's face it.... Now that Sadie is almost 1yr old I have no excuse for my bulges anymore!.

So, onto yesterday... It was hard. Coming back from eating whatever and however much I wanted made it really hard for me to cut back. I am trying Katie & Shelly's method and just cutting my calories to 1200/day. (The day before my diet one of my meals alone was probably 1100 calories. I freakin love Cafe Rio) so I basically felt like I was starving the first half of yesterday. I had great intentions of working out last night and having a nice light dinner, but plans changed and we ended up going out to dinner. It was kinda hard for me to find something on the menu that wasn't loaded with calories, but I think I did the best I could. I got a sandwich and in retrospect I wish I wouldn't have eaten the other half looking at the calorie count now, but it is what it is and I know for next time. So, here are my stats....

Breakfast: 390 Calories
Cream of Wheat (w/ a little sugar added)
Toast (2 slices w/ ICBINB spray)

Snack: 70 Calories
Hard Boiled Egg (sprinkled w/ S&P)

Lunch: 313 Calories
6'' Turkey and Ham on Flatbread w/ Lite Mayo, S&P. (It was SOOOOO hard at the time for me to not eat the other 1/2, but I didn't and I was really proud of that.)

Snack: 110 Calories
Bagel Thin (sprayed w/ ICBINB spray) (I typically wouldn't have had this because I wasn't hungry, but I took some medicine and needed to eat something with it)

Dinner: 740 Calories (EEEEEK)
Turkey sandwich w/ Cranberry Sauce and Avocado.

Total Calories: 1623 Calories!

Workout: I did a lot of walking (shopping for Sadie bugs birthday party), but no gym workout. Hopefully I do better tomorrow (today)

I have a little motivation to stick to my diet this time around because it's swimsuit season coming up and we are headed to Lake Powell for a week. Who wants to feel like a sloth and have to wear a swimsuit for a week? No one!! So, hopefully that motivates me when I feel like cheating or not working out!.

Until tomorrow.... (tonight)

Kaisi: Day 5

Hey ladies! Today was a fun day. We have a good friend of ours in town so we were out and about shopping and playing all day. We didn't have much time for snacking which was good because we went out for a late lunch to Johnny Rockets. I wanted a burger pretty bad because they have the BEST burgers, but I was a good girl and only had half a grilled chicken sandwich. I even took the bacon off and only ate maybe 5 fries. Even though I wanted to keep eating out of habit, I stopped because I was totally content. So here is my breakdown for the day...

Breakfast: 240 calories
2 eggs w/ a slice of toast

Snack: 33 calories
A few bites of watermelon and pineapple

Lunch: 449 calories
A chicken club sandwich w/ a few fries

Dinner: 313 calories
A 6" turkey and ham flatbread sub

I also had 2 diet cokes today.... I know, two is much more then I should be having, but I had a long night last night and let's face it, sometimes mommas need a kick to get through the day without naps! :) that's right, I'm justifying..... I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Headed to bed! Until tomorrow....

Kaisi: Day 4

Hi ladies! Tonight is going to be a short one because I am TIRED!!! I just couldn't go another night without blogging like I promised I would. We had friends come into town today so we have been really busy, leaving no time for snacks. Surprisingly I wasn't longing for them though. I really almost forgot about them all together. Katie was naughty and tempted me with pie tonight for an early "pie day" since she will be gone and I'm afraid I fell right into her trap eating a half of a slice. It was totally not worth it either, hence why I only ate half. Here are my stats for the day...

Breakfast: 260 calories
2 eggs, 1slice of toast sprayed w/ icbinb

Lunch: 493 calories
6" turkey and ham flatbread w/ lite mayo and S&P. A cup of chicken noodle soup w/ a small slice of wheat bread.

Dinner: 249 calories
Chicken burger w/ grilled squash, zucchini and sweet potatoes.

Dessert: 345 calories
1/2 a slice of Marie Calendars German chocolate pie. (so not worth it)

Total calories: 1347

Workout: -359 calories
90 minute walk

So even with the pie I was alright on calories for the day, but only because I missed both snacks and went on a long walk. Time for bed!!!

Until tomorrow.....

Katie Day 3

Good morning! Im sorry I didn't blog last night but I didn't have a computer as Dan was studying til late and so I opted for bed instead of waiting for the laptop. Yesterday I did ok but as you will see when I post my stats I did have a chocolate truffle from Godiva and I DONT regret it at all it was SOOOOO yummy :) Today is a different story as I am way hungry and want to eat everything in my kitchen! But so far I have been good and have just stuck to my cereal and I am drinking water like crazy to try and curb my munchies. I will let you know tonight if the water did the trick. But enough about today lets talk about yesterday :) Ok here are my stats :

Breakfast : 148 calories

1 Cup Cheerios and 1/2 Cup Skim Milk

Lunch : Panera 400 calories

1/2 Tuna Sandwich (no mayo)

Cup Chicken Noodle Soup

Dinner : 320 Calories

Chicken

Grilled Veggies

Snacks : 320 Calories

1 String Cheese

Fiber One Brownie

Godiva Dark Chocolate Truffle (such a yummy treat!)

Total Calories : 1188 (that includes the truffle!)

I have said this before and I will say it again but I LOVE calorie counting and I also love this blog as it keeps me honest with what I am eating! I already feel better about myself and we have only been doing this for a few days!

Welome Meagan! Im excited to hear your story and also about your weight loss tricks! Although even being pregnant I don't see the need for you to diet :) Have fun in Hawaii!

I am leaving tomorrow to go visit my family and so I hope I will continue to behave while at home. But I must admit that I fully intend to have a weak moment and eat a blueberry doughnut from Banbury Doughnut House because they make the BEST doughnuts EVER!!! They are totally worth the calories :)

Well until tonight . . . Happy Dieting!

Kaisi Day: 3

Hi everybody!. Sorry for a next morning post twice in one week. Last night my hubs told me "if you come to bed with me right now I will come to bed early tonight" If you're a wife of a student, especially a student going to be a Doctor you know how rare it is during Finals (plus boards) to have your hubs come to bed with you, so I took the opportunity to snuggle with my hubs instead of blog!. No offense to you girls, but I would totally do it again if I get the chance. :)
Anyways, back to food!. Yesterday was a good day. After breakfast I was so full I didn't think I'd eat for hours. Snack time came around and I wasn't hungry, but the day before I was under my calories so I told myself I didn't want to put my bod in starvation mode so I needed to have a snack even if I wasn't really really hungry. So I had my snack and that must have kicked my metabolism into gear because the rest of the day I couldn't hardly wait for it to be time to eat. Around 5:30 I walked to Safeway to get some veggies to grill for dinner. I took a different route then I usually do thinking it would be quicker, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I didn't end up getting there till about 6:20ish and had to have my husband come rescue me and the bug since it was now dark and super windy/cold. So I only got half my walk in, but it was still a walk. As I was sitting there at the grocery store waiting for my hero, I was STARVIN! I knew before I left I should have had a snack since we were having a late dinner, but I didn't. So even though we were eating dinner within the hour I broke out a Fiber One Brownie and savored every bite. Here is my breakdown for the day.

Breakfast: Zoom w/ a piece of toast. (389 calories)
Snack: Watermellon and Pineapple (128 calories) (Costco has the BEST pineapple on sale right now!)
Lunch: The other 1/2 of my Subway Turkey and Ham flatbread sub (313 calories)
Snack: Baby Carrots (35 calories)
Dessert: Fiber One Brownie (90 calories)
Dinner: Chicken Burger w/ a little katsup (thanks for introducing me to these Katie. YUMMY!!) Sweet potatoes, Zucchini and Squash. (343 calories)

Total Calories: 1298
Total Calories burned on walk: 121

I am so happy Meagan is joining our little team!. It will be fun to hear how she controls her weight through pregnancy. Hopefully it will give me a bunch of tips for my next time around.

Until tonight......

Meagan Jumps In

Hi everyone! I am so excited to be joining your challenge. Mine will be a little bit different since I am 21 weeks pregnant, but staying on track during the pregnancy should help me with the challenge after. I'm grateful that you are all letting me be a part of this blog because I am really challenging myself this pregnancy to gain only the weight I need, instead of eating whatever I feel like and hoping it will go away after.

With my first pregnancy I gained roughly 50-55 pounds. The last 10 or so pounds was water retention, but still that's more weight than I needed to gain. I desperately want to avoid that with this pregnancy and I think that writing down what I eat on a daily basis (plus the calories that go along with what I eat) will help me pay better attention to how much I am eating, as well as how healthy I am eating.

I should probably admit that I have very little self control when it comes to food. My best bet to stay away from sweets is to not have them anywhere near me. For this reason one of my goals this year was to not eat candy. I went for 3 weeks without candy which was the longest I have ever been. Then Valentine's day rolled around and I simply couldn't resist those yummy conversation hearts. I am doing much better since March began and so far this week I have not had any candy!

My total weight gain goal is 25 pounds. Honestly, I would be pleased as punch if I could stay under 30 pounds, but 25 is the actual goal. I am in the process of eliminating all white flour from my diet. The only white flour that I will allow myself to eat is desserts, and I want to limit those as much as I possibly can. Unfortunately I haven't found many dessert recipes that don't use white flour, so I need to do some research before I can completely eliminate white flour - I just don't want to completely give up dessert. As a family we mostly eat what is called a "Real Food" diet. Check out this website for what "Real Food" actually is. The basics of it is that you don't eat any preservatives or processed foods. We mostly follow this except for some things like condiments and desserts. I figure all things in moderation right?

Sorry this blog post is so all over the place. I guess I have a lot of thoughts about weight gain during pregnancy. We are headed to Hawaii on Friday so I think I will "officially" begin my contributions to this blog when we return. However, I am definitely not going to splurge while we are gone. I will still be watching what I eat while on vacation, but I want to enjoy myself as well. Hopefully I will come back having gained no more than a couple of pounds. We will be hiking quite a bit so maybe I'll get lucky and come out even! Good luck to you all this week and next week!

Katie Day 2

Hello all my day 2 was a good day. I am feeling good and excited to be getting back on track! I went to Costco yesterday and bypassed the free samples and I was so proud of myself cause I love those samples! Last night D was studying all night and J was sleeping so I was alone in the house and had a sweet tooth. This has been a dangerous situation for me lately as I usually satisfy my sweet tooth with cookies or brownies or something that is high in calories :( But I knew that I had to blog so I behaved myself and just had a skinny cow ice cream sandwich and guess what it TOTALLY satisfied my sweet tooth! I love that when I count calories I can still have sweets if I choose the correct ones!! Ok so here are my stats I was a bit short but really wasn't hungry after my skinny cow, anyhow my day went as follows :

Breakfast - 166 calories

My usual 1 cup cheerios

1/4 Cup skim milk

1 thin mint girl scout cookie :)

Lunch - 400 calories

Panera chicken noodle soup (cup)

1/2 sandwich tomato and cheese

Dinner - 265 Cal

4.5 oz cheese ravioli

Snacks - 302

Special K cracker chips

1/4 Cup Guacamole

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich

Total calorie count 1133

Until tomorrow (which is really tonight cause I was to tired to blog last night) Happy Dieting!!

Kaisi: day 2

Hi ladies! Today was an alright day for me. Despite being tired, I think I handled the dieting alright. Around lunch time I was starving and had my mind set on subway. I know it sounds silly, but I knew if I ate a sandwich at my house I would continue to snack where if I ate it from Subway I'd be satisfied, so I chose subway. My husband had the car, so I had to walk there which was great. I ended up having to wait for my savvy sav to wake up before I could go and that ended up in a killer headache because I was seriously so hungry! This evening I had to do some grocery shopping and one thing I have learned in the past is to eat before you go or else you end up buying the worst foods and a lot of it! I am proud to say I made it out of Costco with all healthy food and no hot dog or churro (my fav) It was hard, but I'm glad looking back that I didn't give into my naughty habits!

Here are my stats...

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 piece of toast.
Snack: baby carrots
Lunch: 6" turkey n' ham on flatbread with a little light mayo, salt and pepper
Snack: slim-fast
Dinner: rotisserie chicken with corn
Snack: a few bites of pineapple and watermelon as I chopped it up.

Total calories: 1190

Until tomorrow....

Katie Day 1 (give or take 100 days or so) :)

Well its nice to be back and I must say that this time around I am in a MUCH MUCH better mood about dieting! I think that I have finally come to terms with dieting and I actually like counting calories! I know shocker huh!? I feel like when I count calories I eat so much better and am happier with myself because I practice self control. So thanks ladies for wanting to do this again cause you helped give me the kick in the pants that I needed! I did pretty good over the Holidays but ever since Christmas I have been eating badly. So instead of one bowl of cereal in the morning I would have 2 cause it tastes good. I have been worried that if I keep eating poorly I will gain back everything that I have worked so hard to loose. I have felt in the last couple of weeks that I am starting to get out of control again in my eating habits and I am ready to get things under control before they totally spiral out of control! And we are doing this just in time to get ready for swim suit season :) Ok enough confession, the past is the past and today (technically yesterday) my diet begins! Here is what I ate yesterday, I did pretty good until about 8:00 pm :(

Breakfast : 197 calories

My staple 1 Cup Cheerios and 1/4 C skim milk

1/4 c Chocolate milk mixed with 1/4 C skim

Lunch/Dinner : 484 calories

Sweet onion chicken burger (no bun)

1/2 cup guacamole

30 Special K cracker chips

1/2 Cup veggies

Snacks : 623 calories (I know its ALOT but its my 1st day back) :)

100 calories for sneaking yummies at the bbq

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries and Bannanas with Dark Chocolate fondue (TOTALLY WORTH IT)

Total Calorie count : 1304

Its back on let the diet wagon roll!! Until tomorrow (technically tonight) Happy Dieting!!!

Kaisi: Day 1 (again)

Hi everyone! I really had good intentions of posting last night, but we ended up playing games till midnight and since I have to start work at 6am, blogging was the last thing on my mind. I am super excited Ashley is joining us. She is going to do so great!. Since we stopped we have talked several times about starting again, but have never actually started blogging so I am happy we are finally doing it!. Shelly is right, Katie doesn't need to be blogging/dieting, but I on the other hand was not as good as Katie was over the holidays. I am ashamed to say I gained all but 7lbs back from my original start weight and now that Sadie is almost a year I don't have an excuse to blame anymore. So hopefully I can get motivated by this blog again and start shedding the lbs like I did last time.

So... Yesterday was super hard for me. Katie called me Saturday night and said "tomorrow we start again" giving me no mental time to prepare. I had already eaten my last pre-diet meal which means I didn't even get to gorge, which is kinda good I guess!. It made yesterday really hard though. I just wasn't there mentally yet, so I had a lot of snacks! Here is my breakdown....

Breakfast: 2 Eggs, scrambled in a Carb Smart Tortilla.
Snack: 2 string cheeses
Lunch: Cheeseburger. (ugh, that hurts to write especially knowing Katie and Ashley had a turkey burger!)
Snack: 2 Graham Crackers and 1 package of Fruit Jammers.
Dinner: I didn't have dinner because lunch was at a weird time and I had snacks in place of dinner..
Dessert: Strawberries and Banana's lightly dipped in DARK chocolate fondu.

Total Calories: 1368

Oh my gosh, I am seriously so embarrassed writing all that down. Yesterday I didn't feel so bad about it, but looking at it now it's no wonder I gained back my previously lost weight. UGH!.

Two things that I didn't know that really surprised me as I was talking with Katie last night. Bananas are SUPER SUPER high in calories. I had no idea. I thought Banana=Healthy. Yikes. Also, Milk.... not so good for you. I thought it was good to help get your dairy (which it is), but it is also super high in calories.

Until tonight.... :)

Shelley's Off Season Update

Hello All! It's been a while, so I think it's only fair I come clean. Before our little competition ended I found out I was expecting TWINS!!!! Yep, a little boy and a little girl. I'm super excited but it definitely put a cramp in my weight loss/butt kicking strategy. I can't say just how glad I am I lost 20lbs before I did get pregnant. With eight weeks still left to go before delivery I am really appreciating that I am not 20lbs heavier.

I had an ultrasound yesterday and the kids were already over 5lbs each. . .THAT'S more than 10lbs of BABY!!! Not to mention the little mansions they've been building. It's going to be fascinating to see how my weight settles out once they twins are born.

Ashley, who will be joining us soon, just had the most adorable little girl less than a year after having her first little boy and she and Katie (though if you've seen Katie recently you would wonder why she thinks she needs to lose anything else) will be doing the bulk of the blogging for a while. I'm just fine giving them a head start, it will help me be more competitive when I finally get my body back to myself. Until then, happy weight loss!