I've been here before.

That number.  It looks so oddly familiar.  It is.  Odd.  And Familiar.  Since I have no idea who's reading my blog these days, I'm a little hesitant to put such a number out there.  Here goes.  Maybe I can use a small font?   177.  That's right.  I said it.  That's how much I weigh.  It's how much I weighted before I got pregnant with Marek.  So I could call it pre-pregnancy weight.  However, it's not my goal weight.  I was about 17 pounds from goal weight when I got pregnant with Marek, so now I've returned to this spot, this plateau and this time I'm determined to blow right through it. 

I'm technically overweight by the BMI charts.  And before you give me the "you have a two month old" speech, let me assure you that I was at this weight after baby two within the first six weeks.  I just never pushed past it. 

There were so many factors that contributed to me keeping 17 extra pounds after Chester.  The most glaring is that I was overconfident.  The weight peeled off after Pete.  In fact, I was the thinnest I've been since high school after Pete was born.   I didn't even have to try to get the weight off, it just melted.  I laughed in the face of women who said "nine months to put it on, nine months to take it off".  I'm 5'10" with a nice solid frame, so 145 and a size four was actually not an attractive weight for me and I happily gained back to a healthy 160 before getting pregnant again.  After Chester, I didn't bother making any sort of effort again, and lost 20 of the 40+ pounds I'd put on.  But that was it.  The scale hovered between 170 and 180 for the next year. 

Our vacation to D and K's wedding in Turks and Caicos really pushed me to make an effort.  Oh, not before the vacation, but after.  After I saw myself in pictures, and saw myself in a swimsuit I truly started my weight loss journey.  There were a few bumps in the road, but I manage to get down to 168 before starting to gain with Marek. 

This time I told myself I will not allow that to happen again.  So I'm being more careful with the alcohol.  And brownies.  It's best if I don't even let baked goods or candy in the house, as I have zero self control when I'm stressed.  After cleaning the toilet and your toddler's pants for the fifth time today, a handful of M&Ms really satisfies with the crunchy shells and the sweet chocolate melting in your mouth... but I digress. 

I'm a mere three weeks from being able to use the YMCA playcare for Marek.  Though now that I've been cleared by the midwife to return to the gym, I am going to sneak him in earlier, like this week so that I can return to my yoga, zumba and treadmills.  Exercise is both good for the body and the soul, but it's difficult to accomplish at home with three children screaming for your attention, and trying to fit it into our evenings when Ryan's home to watch Marek is nearly impossible if I want to have dinner and bedtime on time to keep my older boys in a routine.  I also do better with a stable schedule, and I'm excited to be starting a sustainable routine again, even if it means fibbing a little to the YMCA playcare.   

Mini goal #1 Sneak the baby into playcare twice a week while Pete's in pre-school.
Mini goal #2 167 pounds, which is the cut off between overweight and healthy for my height.
Mini goal #3 Run a 5K.  I returned to running after Pete and completed a half marathon, but failed miserably 8 miles into my half marathon after Chester. 
Mini goal #4 Run that half marathon!
Final goal- 160lbs, living a happy and healthy life with the ability to keep up with my three crazy boys. 

Crawfish: bait or dinner?

Yesterday we spent the day on the Cape at a crawfish boil.  I'd like to offer a special thanks to AGB for inviting us and sharing a little special taste of the South with us!  What's even better, the timing of the party worked out perfectly for the boys to nap in the car on the way there, and change into pajamas for the ride home.  (You all know how important it is for my boys to nap properly)  In Ohio, a crawfish is more likly to be bait, not a meal, so I was a little weary of eating "mudbugs" but all my Texan friends assured me they're tasty and I was game to try. 

All morning Pete wanted to know when it was time to go to his friend's house.  This kid might be the most social little boy in the world.  All I had to do was tell him we were going to his friend's house for a party and he was putting on his shoes and heading for the car.  When we arrived, he instantly made friends and we all walked to the playground.  Despite being the youngest, he was right in there with all the kids on the slides and in the sandbox.  Later they were all playing with the crawfish before we boiled them.  I'm not sure he really understood betting on crawfish races, and I know he's actually quite scared of them, but in the moment with all the other kids playing with dinner, he was right there in the middle.  I even watched him climb into the driver's seat while the other kids pushed the power wheels up the hill to ride it back down.  It's a unique moment, watching your child play with other kids without being prompted on how to play together.  No "share with your brother" or "throw the ball to Tyler."  Pete's growing up, and it was touching to see him as the person he's becoming, not just my child.

Chester is still toddling around, not ready yet to interact with other children.  Mostly children will play independently until around age two when they move to parallel play before finally interacting with peers.  Chester played with some of the balls, and rode a hot wheels, but he still doesn't venture very far from me or Ryan.  When the crawfish were ready, Ryan shelled one for Chester, and to my surprise, Chester loved it!  He came running back over and over squealing for more.  I'm pretty sure Chester ate more of them than I did.  We ordered 8 pounds as a family, and while Pete probably played with his share, Chester definitely ate his. 

It was very nice to meet some of the new wives from the Cape, and of course dinner and dessert was fantastic.  I ate so many cookies and oreo cheesecake cupcakes and dirt pudding cups that I had to stop counting calories for the day.  Ryan said my phone's calorie counter probably stopped working because it's like the "tilt" mechanism on a pinball machine.  Maybe I'll skip weigh in this week, or maybe I'll schedule in an extra zumba or yoga. 

We got some great, and much anticipated news this weekend too, but I'll let her share with the world when she's ready.  Congratulations to my secretly pregnant chick friend!  We've waited for this with you, and your heartbreak and struggle to get pregnant has been our heartbreak too because we know you'll be an amazing Mom.  Happy Mother's Day to all my Mom friends, and especially Mom-to-be Secretly Pregnant Chick!

Counting calories is dangerous to your enjoyment of that slice of cake!

I can't blame the baby for the baby weight anymore.  In fact, let's call it what it is: 15 pounds of beer and pizza weight. 

All last summer, after Chester went to sleep, I would indulge in a few (or six) beers.  I helped myself to the extra slice of cake, didn't blink at having a two donuts with my coffee (cream and sugar of course) and enjoyed the potty-training candy stash even if I didn't need to pee on the potty.  Yes I knew better, but all the baby weight was gone by six weeks the first time plus some.  I was the thinnest I've been since high school in between babies but the second time it didn't just peel off like the first time. 

So now it's time to work on the situation.  Two weeks ago, I installed a calorie counter app on my new phone and quickly discovered that I've been downing over 3,000 calories a day.

My breakfast, two slices of whole grain toast with butter, an egg and a slice of cheese was running me almost 500 calories.  Add a coffee, milk or juice and I was over 600 calories by 7:30am.  There would be a mid-morning snack with the boys, maybe a muffin or some other baked treat, and it didn't get any better from there.  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich runs about 450, add some fruit, maybe chips or mac and cheese.  You can see where I'm going!  By the time I made dinner and had a few beers every night, I was well beyond a reasonable diet.
 
Five Guys regular fries: 620 calories- this isn't even the meal, it's a side dish!

One package of Reese's Pieces packaged up as a carrot for Easter: 510 calories- again not even a meal!

The fabulous chicken parm, green beans, potatoes, salad, bread, cake and ice cream at this afternoon's bridal shower was nearly 1,600 calories!

If you want to try too, I'm using fatsecret.com and its calorie counter available on the android market.  Both are totally free, and I've been very impressed with the ease of finding the foods.  They have info from restaurants, homemade food, prepackaged foods.  I just scan the bar code on my bread and all the nutrition information fills in!  The only downside to keeping track is the total dismay when you discover what the treat you're considering will cost you.  But some days, the Reese's Pieces are absolutely worth the 510 calories. 

So now that I'm keeping track, I've cut back to the standard 2,000 calories and dropped 5 pounds in 2 weeks (still keeping my normal gym schedule of zumba or yoga classes a few days a week)  I still ate those fries, and the candy, but I've been able to keep my indulgences to a few a week, not a few a day. 

I'll let you know how it goes!