Hey! So, I have gone 5 weeks without cheating ONCE on my diet. I have started making time for exercise and am feeling actual results. Yesterday I went on a jog during my lunch break for 30 minutes. I then did another 30 minutes of cardio and ab work when I got home. I have found that by doing Tae Bo and Power Jam at home enables me to exercise and be near my new baby girl. I'm not sure how much weight, if any, I have lost. I am staying away from the scale until I KNOW I have lost. I don't want to get discouraged. I am starting to feel more energized from the extra exercises. I have my "skinny pic" from a year ago before I was pregnant posted at the bottom of my computer screen here at work to keep me motivated. I don't even look like the same person. The person in the pic is athletic, slim, and very toned. Definitely not the person I see in the mirror every morning. I know I can get back down to my old weight. I just have to manage my time VERY wisely.

Hi Amy,
Welcome to the WLF

It sounds like you have a great plan in action!
You'll do well

I'm sill rocking and rolling on my healthy eating. I work for a prefessional firm of about 25 people and clients keep sending chrsitmas treats. Yesterday the kitchen was covered in about 8lbs of Godiva chocolates. Guess what? I did no have a single piece! I am now in my sixth week of "no cheating". I am getting a jogging stroller this weekend so my new baby girl and I can take jogs together. I loved to jog and hike before I got pregnant and although it's so hard now, I am finding that I still truly enjoy doing it. It's very therapeutic for me. Plus, Annabelle loves looking at different things when we are outside. I still stare at my "before pregnancy pic" on my computer screen. It definitely gives me the proper motivation to keep this up. I know that it will be so much easier once I get back into shape. Then I can keep the weight off and jog a little further without getting so winded. I can do this.

Good Morning Amy,

The jog will be great for you and Annabelle
Have a good weekend!

Hii Amy (That's my name too! ) Welcome to the fourm!! It looks like you're doing great, keep it up.

Thank you all for the encouragement. This forum is helping me stay motivated. I check it many times each day. It's almost like an addiction.

So, yesterday my husband and I traveled to my parents for our Christmas celebration. It was depressing watching my family eat such a delicious dinner while I stuck to ham and veggies. I didn't even try the PB pie or the homemade toffee. But I did not cheat! What was the worst was looking at the screen on my mother's camera to see the picture she had just taken of my husband and I. I looked so large. I have never been this weight before. I broke down and cried all the way home. My poor husband tried so hard to make me feel better. I know I just had a baby 10 weeks ago, but it's just so traumatizing to see how large I am. I am doing great on my diet, I just need to increase my cardio and exercise some more. He had me feeling better by this morning. I now have a increase in motivation. I just keep seeing that picture of me and it makes me work harder. We are going to get a jogging stroller here in a couple of hours and I will be taking my new baby on her first jog with Mommy this afternoon. I am really looking forward to it. I love to jog, it's just hard to do wth a new baby. Not anymore!! I am going to lose this weight!

Hey Ms. amy welcome... sorry I havent been in b4 but between college and life in general lol....... They make jogging strollers but not sure if the itty bitty one is ready for all that just yet......

I woke up this morning at 4:30 and went jogging. It was so humid outside that I had sweat pouring off me. It felt great. I am going to keep trying to get up extra early to exercise. It's definitely a good way to start my day. My amazing husband had the baby fed and changed when I got back. He is really helping me alot with my weight loss and fitness goals. I need to lose 45lbs and he has to gain 20-30. He has a super high metabolism and I loathe him for it (just kidding). I went to my company Christmas party tomight and only had raw veggies with a little ranch dip. I am so used to the different eating habits that it really isn't hard anymore to say no to junk food. I am so thankful for that. Especially during the holidays. I bought a scale and my husband hid it. I will only allow myself to look at it every 2-3 weeks. This will help keep me motivated. I want so much to see the numbers on the scale slowly fall away. I am just going to keep my diet the way it is and keep increasing my cardio and exercise. I plan on getting 2 hours of exercise tomorrow. 30 minutes before work, 45 minutes on my lunch break, and another 45 minutes before dinner. These are my goals for tomorrow.

hi amyrb-thanx 4 ur post! seems like you know what you are doing and have got the excersize down too!! i am so happy that you are doing so well!!

so a cure for the family eating blues/stress i find is to minimize my eating throughout the day when i know there is a party to go to, then when i get there stack up on veggies and eat what i want (within my calorie range--hopefully by then you can estimate while there!) and skip on dessert-usually having tea or coffee curbs my appetite, and everyone looks at you like "wow she's really healthy she's skipping dessert!"

so good luck-especially with the holidays coming up-and dont forget that maintaining weight over the dreaded dinners isn't bad!

Thanks Fsaiidni! You are right about snacking throughout the day before functions. I've also found that eating before functions really helps with willpower too. have also been having a snack of fruit right before I leave work so I won't overeat or have cravings at dinner time. Plus I've started some "mommy and me" yoga and pilates that I do with my baby girl. She loves to watch me exercise at home. All the movement makes her smile and laugh. I am having problems with what to cook for my husband. While I'm cookinghealthy for myself to lose weight, he needs to gain 20-30lbs. He has a super high metabolism and runs alot so he needs alot of calories. He refuses to let me cook him something different or extra because I'm always so busy. He hates to add to my workload. He's an awesome husband. I'm thinking of packing him lunches at night that are packed with carbs and calories for when he's at work. He's a pilot for the USAF so he needs something that's easy to eat on the go since he's in a cockpit for MANY hours at a time. Do you have any ideas what I can prepare for him that is quick and easy to eat? Maybe some power bars or something. ???

well, since i'm a college student and that's all i've had for years and years...YES!

here's a good list (be cautioned that not a lot of this is very healthy because it is packaged and full of preservatives)
1) yogurt/jello (you could even do yogurt in a stick!)
2) string cheese
3) power/nutrigrain bars
4) canned ANYTHING (soup, ravioli...)
5) you could make 1 huge meal on sunday (roast chicken, stew, rice dish...) and buy lots of TUPPERWARE then he will have something for the rest of his week/part of his week that will be home made (if he can find a microwave)
6) hotpockets are good--if he doesnt have a microwave you can microwave them in the morning and they will be fine for lunch (just not hot)
7) any sort of sandwich
8) lots of hard boiled eggs/ scrambled...
9) protein drinks in a can that can get him going
10) fruit snacks of sorts
11) dried fruit
12) sunflower seeds....ect...=-)

Still doing great on my healthy eating. I am down 3lbs so that makes me happy. We are having a christmas party here at the office today so I will not get to jog on my lunch break. And tonight we have to pack for Georgia so I will really have to work hard to squeeze in some exercise. I found a website at fitday.com that I record all my acitivity and what I eat and I find that I am only having 1200-1400 calories a day with 20-50 carbs and low fat. My doctor believes that the weight is not coming off faster because of my hormones. I had to take estrogen before I got pregnant. I have Polycystic Ovarian Disease and had to have my right ovary removed when I was 16. Doc said it was a huge surprise that I got pregnant. My baby girl is definitely a blessing to me. He says my hormones are trying to level off from the prgnancy and it make take a few months for the weight to start falling off any faster. At least it's coming off. It's really discouraging to work so damn hard for 6 weeks and only lose 3 lbs. I know I am growing muscle back so that may have something to do with it. I'll be watching inches to see if that's the case.

Still doing well on my eating. I only had 990 calories yesterday so I was sure to take my multi-vitamin today. I have a appointment with my doctor on 1/4 to check my hormone levels. Just in case anyone is wondering, I have been on hormone therapy since I was 16 (9 years). I had my right ovary removed from PCOS. Thankfully, I got pregnant and had a baby girl 12 weeks ago. Doc thinks my slow weight loss is due to my lack of estrogen and I will be starting my hormone therapy again. I have not cheated for 6 weeks, have eaten only 1200-1400 calories (all salads, veggies, and grilled meats), and exercise almost every day. I have only lost 3lbs. The other 20lbs was baby and fluid. So I am so hopeful that this will help the weight start to come off. I will not take diet pills so the estrogen therapy may be the only way. I will continue to eat healthy and exercise because I enjoy it and it was my lifestyle before I got pregnant. I miss being an athlete. I miss running for many miles without stopping for a rest. I miss kicking my husband's ass at hiking in the mountains . I miss my size 5/6 levis and my red slacks that made my butt look slimmer. My goal is to be able to fit these clothes again. It is so embarrassing for people to walk by me and not recognize me because I am so much larger now. I will change this though. I am terrified to go to Georgia tonight to see my husband's family. I don't want them to see me this size. I know I need to learn to let it go and be positive. I am tired of making jokes about myself before anybody else gets a chance to. I laugh at myself to make them think I am positive and confident no matter what. My goal is to change this too. 2007 will be a year of happiness and of "liking myself". I will accept nothing less. i will lose this weight.

I went ahead and splurged on one meal on Christmas day and still can't stop feeling guilty for it. I went 7 weeks without cheating ONE time and I go and ruin it by eating sweet potato crunch and dressing on christmas day. I know it's not much of a cheat but I still feel bad for it. Once again another week has gone with no weight loss. I am down to 900-1100 calories and still nothing. I never would have thought that having a baby would change my body so drastically. I don't look like I gave birth, I just look 45lbs heavier and the weight just won't come off! I just don't understand. I reallyhope it is my hormones and that the doctor can do something to make it better. I feel like I am fighting myself to keep from getting "very" depressed. When I look in the mirror, I have to tell myself to not think about it and just go to work. I am working so hard to be optimistic. Yeah I may not have lost any weight this 7 weeks but I'll start losing soon. I'll just keep telling myself that it will come off eventually. I just want my baby girl to know me like I used to be. Confident, happy, and lots of fun. She is the main reason I am working so hard at this. She deserves the very best and I will give it to her. I am taking this day by day and my hard work will soon pay off.

Quote:

I am down to 900-1100 calories and still nothing.

Oh my gosh! That is not enough calories for a woman especially one that is exercising as hard as you are! Please consider eating a bit more. Your body may very well be going into "starvation mode" thusly creating your lack of weight change.

You are a new mommy, you need to keep your strenght up. =)

Btw welcome to the boards. I hope my post wasn't too aggressive.