So much energy- workout day!

Weighed in the same as yesterday at 146.6.  Was a little disappointed but then again, still happy to see those numbers.  My body fat percentage was down 1% on the scale, so that's a big deal.  After all, it's not just about the weight but also body fat and inches, right?

Today was a better day as far as hunger in the afternoon.... and I made it to the gym!  After my morning shake and mid morning apple snack, I knew I had to hurry up and get my workout in before I got really hungry.  Hubby is in Vegas with his buddy, so the Y and their child care center was calling my name.  Did legs for 20 minutes and then 30 minutes on the elliptical.  I was really hungry after and had a nice, big lunch.  I had more turkey and less grain than the chart suggests, but I still was around 600 cals.  Loved the carrots and hummus and sirloin salad with Galeo miso sesame dressing.  Ate some cherry tomatoes when I got home to keep me from bingeing since I had to make the kiddo's lunches first.  That was at 1 and I wasn't even very hungry at 5 when I had my hard boiled egg snack.  Had my shake at 7 and at 8:30, despite 7 hours of sleep last night (I love 8-9 hours) I just organized my second bathrooms medicine cabinet, took out the garbage and will jump on the dishes and laundry when I finish my blog. :)  Go me!  I haven't had this kind of energy.... ever?  Not this consistently anyway.

Since I am still breastfeeding baby E, I am conscious of my milk supply. It's definitely gone down a little but she is getting plenty and doesn't seem upset at all.  In fact, the past 2 nights she hasn't night nursed until the early morning hours, allowing me to get several hours in a row of sleep, which I am sure is contributing to my feelings of better restfulness.  She ate a bigger dinner than usual; perhaps because she's not getting as much milk during the day.  Whatever it is, I'm lovin' it and hope she keeps it up.  My dream is to co sleep with my lil munchkin without the night nursing.  I love cuddling with her and it is going to be over before I know it because they grow so fast.

I also took both girls to Target and Trader Joe's today.  They were so good.  This weekend has been amazingly easy without my sidekick here to help me out.  Hope tomorrow is just as good.   I think being out of the house definitely helped keep my hunger, or thoughts of food, at bay.

I'm nervous that I will wake up in the morning heavier because of the weight training.  I feel like I'm on a great path regardless.

Isagenix cleanse- Day 4

I had intentions of writing every day and chronicling my journey but just haven't had the time.  The kids are climbing all over me like monkeys.  It's all I can muster to update my Facebook and play Words With Friends!

I'm so ecstatic about the past 4 days.  I am so excited about the results I'm having already and want to shout it from the rooftops and recruit everyone I love and even like a little.  I'm not gonna lie.... my main motivation is and was weight loss.  The energy and better sleep is an added bonus I didn't count on.

Here is a recap of the past 4 days.  My starting weights, snacks, etc.  I want to remember exactly what I did and also share it with you, too, in case you are feeling a little overwhelmed like I was and not sure of where to start.

Day 1- 149.6  I gained some of what I lost from bingeing knowing that I was going into this.
Started off the day with a shot of the Ionic Supreme and after a little taste, know why my friend Kate suggested doing it like a shot with a glass of water chaser.  Very strong and potent!  There's something about starting the day with a shot of healthy goodness that I like and this stuff gave me a better buzz than coffee ever could.
In addition to the required shake day items, I consumed an extra 1/2 a shake in the morning and 1/2 in the evening.  I was freakin starving.   Got caught at a Ralph Lauren audition for an extra 90 minutes so ate lunch 2 hours late.  BAD CHOICE.  We were all starving so I ended up with a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo from McDonald's followed by a bean and veggie soup from Trader Joe's that I made yesterday.  Since I was really hungry, I tried one of the wafers in the bottle labeled "Isagenix Snacks!"  These wafers are kinda gross.  I had a hard boiled egg for a snack and took my babies to swim class.  So basically, not much exercise.  Went to bed feeling hungry.

Day 2- Woke up not hungry at all.  Weird.  148.2
Hungry again during the day so added 1/2 a shake in the morning and evening again.  Had 1 hard boiled egg with both snacks and some celery with the afternoon egg.  For lunch I put a ton of spinach, bell peppers and asparagus in 2 whole eggs, egg whites and BreakFree egg substitute with some shredded cheese (all organic.)  Had some black bean and corn salsa on the side and 2 tbsp. of hummus.  Felt full but was hungry again soon.  Think a lot of it is in my head.  Had an Isagenix Snacks! wafer.  It wasn't as bad a I remembered it. Need to change my lunch to more filling food and I don't know if I was in the 400-600 calorie range I need to be in for this meal.

Day 3- 147.2  Woke up around 4am with sick baby.  Felt a little hungry but fell back to sleep with visions of fat melting away.  Didn't have any extra shake today and my lunch was so good and kept me satisfied.  I had salad with Galeo's dressing, tomato, organic sirloin steak and a huge, delicious sweet potato.  YUM.  hard boiled eggs again for snacks.  Had so much energy that I cleaned my house, organized my clothes and my bathroom.  I've been putting the organizing off for sooooo long.  Months and months.  Amazed at this energy considering sick child and little sleep.

Day 4- 146.6

I haven't seen 146 since the beginning of my second trimester with E.  Now I'm paranoid I will be stuck here for weeks.  We'll see how the next few days play out.  Much less hungry today and woke up thinking that everything seems so clear.  Usually when I wake up I feel "foggy."  The fact that my house is much more organized also really makes me feel more together.

My fave hardboiled eggs for snack in the morning and afternoon and some apple slices.  Lunch was amazing!   My mother in law's spicy salmon and a bowl of this amazing Moroccan lentil soup she made and a salad with some tomato and Galeo's Miso Caesar dressing. Can't forget the big ol sweet potato either.  I need this every day.  So good!   Yesterday and today I did have a little headache immediately after lunch that lasted for about 45 minutes.  Not too bad, but there.  Just drank a bunch of water and it faded.

 I ate my snack late since I wasn't hungry and didn't notice the time.  A drank some of my dinner shake.  It tastes amazing to me now, where as it was just okay at first.  Also had one of those Snacks! wafers.  It actually tasted..... good.    After only 4 days are my taste buds already forgetting what real chocolatey goodness tastes like?

I hope to post every day with more details about how I'm feeling.  Journaling is a huge part of success and I also want to remember what I did exactly when I am down to 127 (or maybe even less!), looking back at my journey.  For now I will go to bed at night with prayers for my kiddos and people I love; then I will fantasize about being able to share clothes with skinny friends again and wearing really cute jeans that show my butt! 

It's a new day, it's a new life for meeeeee

And I'm feeling GOOOOD! :)

I think I've finally found what I've been looking for.  Tomorrow I begin a 30 day cleanse and I am so excited.   Of course in preparation for this cleanse, I have been eating so poorly.  I can't wait to start but I'm sure after a few days of shakes, I will be wishing for some chocolate.  There are chocolate shakes and there are these little chocolate snack bites so perhaps I won't have any cravings- I hope!

I've heard really great things about Isagenix including the fact that people lose huge amount of weight in short periods of time.  I typically lose so slowly.  We shall see if that's about to change.

Tune in folks.  It's gonna be a wild ride.......

I'm a loser baby.... so why don't you starve me

I have fallen off the wagon with a thud.  I'm so frustrated and about to give up hope that I've given in to the sugar cookies that my daughter made yesterday and pasta galore.  I even had a big, huge fast food hamburger and it tasted so good.  I ate the fries too.  I'm putting sugary creamer in my coffee.  I'm becoming a human garbage can and I'm not even really enjoying it because of the guilt.

I haven't exercised, so I'm tired.  I've actually lost weight because I'm losing muscle mass but feel fatter than ever.  What to do?  Jenny Craig?  Was considering it.  It's one thing I actually haven't tried.  WTF is wrong with me?  I know what I'm supposed to do but I feel like I've been doing it for the past 11 months and I'm not getting the results I want or need.

Like a little angel, my friend's husband told me about what has led him to lose 30 lbs. of fat, his skinny adorable college age daughter lost 18 and his wife lost as well.  It's a cleanse that is on a cellular level.  Not Standard Process, the one I had much success with before, but another one that isn't as restrictive.  I'm in.  I'm trying it.  I start next week.  This friend is also turning 51 in April and entered his first Bodybuilding competition.  Impressive!

Guilt and Shame

There are a few reasons I've been MIA.  My house is being torn apart due to water damage and mold issues, a Gala I am chairing is finally happening in a week so I am trying to find time to prepare for that, not feeling well, no nanny and having fun with my kids.  I am NOT exercising and I am NOT monitoring my food intake in any way shape or form.  Yep, fell off the wagon.

I feel so guilty.  I know what I have to do, so why is it so hard to just do it?  I love 4HB and I felt great the first few days, but seriously, I just can't eat beans at every single meal.  It doesn't feel "natural" and by mid day each day I am bloated and gassy.  Just not comfortable!  I was looking at Philip Goglia and Jiliian Michael's books and they are both in line with Isabel de los Rios.  Why is it so hard to only eat natural, unprocessed foods?

Today I will work on portion control and stop eating when I am full.

What are you struggling with?

Need help....

Oh boy... fighting big cravings and so tired today.  Stressed.  This is when it gets hard.

Confessions of a YoYo Dieter and Serial Exerciser: Not so sure about this anymore.....

Confessions of a YoYo Dieter and Serial Exerciser: Not so sure about this anymore.....

Not so sure about this anymore.....

This has been an epic pain in the ass week.  I've wanted to write for days but no time with a crabby, whiny, clingy 10 month old and other randomness.  I'm thinking the baby may be pissed about the change in her milk since my diet is very different now.  I'm not hungry so I'm assuming my milk isn't low.  I guess it's probably a teething issue since she isn't eating her solids well either.

SOOOO, the diet.  I guess I am at the stage in which I usually move on to something else, or cut back, or consider quitting because I'm not getting results.  It's only the second week, but in the book it says you gain after the binge day and return to normal after a couple days, only to be even lower by the next week.  Well, I gained all the weight as promised (water weight) but it hasn't all come back off yet.  By Sunday I should be at 146 or less if Timmy baby is right here.  I'm also resuming more weight training this week so that could contribute.  Oh, and of course Tim states on his 4HB blog that Mom's of 2 or more kids need an extra 4-6 weeks before they really start seeing results.

The food is good and I've learned something about myself already.  The diets that I find the most success with are those in which I am limited to particular food types.  Counting calories DOES NOT work for me.  Not ever.  Planning meals, same deal.  The Weight Watcher's Core program worked really well for me and this is working pretty well so far, as far as hunger, not feeling deprived, etc. goes.

Problemos that I am having so far:  The beans.  I love beans, all kinds of beans, particularly the lentils, black beans, pinto beans and refried beans I am eating.  You can probably guess what my issue is with all of these beans in addition to eggs and cruciferous veggies.  Gonna grab some Beano today and hope that helps, or my body adjusts, because I will end up sexy and thin, but no one will want to be around me! :)

Other problemo:  This may be by design, but only the second week on the slow carb diet and 3rd week without any sugar and when I have it, I have a splitting headache within minutes.  Binge day I had a horrid headache all day from the caffeine and sugar in the chocolate and then yesterday morning, I had a drink of my daughter A's tea after she put a ton of sugar in it (without my knowledge, sneaky lil tea party girl!) and I had a headache 5 minutes later.  SUPER sensitive to caffeine as well.  I guess it's a good thing because I obviously don't want a headache, so I'm not as prone to cheat.

Binge Day! Woohoo! I think.....

It's my first binge day on 4HB and I reach it with mixed emotions.  I feel fantastic; not hungry or deprived at all and weighed in at my lowest since the end of my first trimester with baby E., so the last thing I want to do is eat like a gluttonous pig today.  I do realize that if I don't take this opportunity, it's 7 more days until it comes up again, though.

SO, I'm 1 meal into my binge day and haven't been too crazy. Added sugar to my coffee and had an organic dark chocolate bar.  Result?  Elation?  Nope.  Headache.  Had a little turkey sandwich action.  Will make some fresh squeezed OJ and order our favorite veggie pizza from The Good Pizza for tonight.  I think that will do me good.  Definitely not all of the food I envisioned for the past few days.  I just don't want it so why consume it?  I am on the fence about a cookies n cream shake, though.

Also starting P90X again today.  Day 1 of 90 days.  I'm just starting over because I've been really inconsistent and doing other things, too.  I always tend to get the exercise OR the diet down, not both together, which leads to subpar results.  20 lbs. left to go.  Giddy UP!

Day 5- 4HB

Going strong, my friends, going strong.  I can't believe this is actually a diet.  I feel good, I'm losing (slowly but surely as usual) but most importantly, I'm not hungry and I don't feel deprived.  The wine helps that feeling and then remembering that Monday is my pig out day makes it easy.  I'm making a mental list of what I will eat on Monday.  Apparently I will be doing some 90 second stints of hard core exercises (think jump squats) on binge day, but I think that is a good sacrifice for being able to eat all the Ben n Jerry's I want and a stack of pancakes.

My husband is a very clean eater and we've decided it's best for him not to be around on my binge day.  It will probably gross him out!  I think he is excited about "The Good Pizza" for dinner on Monday's, though!  And desert!

I've been slacking on the exercise.  So hard to get it in with the kiddo's, the nanny being sick this week, the silent auction I am chairing, etc.  I always find it difficult to get both the exercise and diet perfectly together.

Oh!  Had the Chipotle burrito bowl that Tim recommends in his book.  So good!  Must learn to make this at home.  I can definitely eat this every day.

Off to the grocery store for more eggs and beans!! Toot Toot!

Holy Bi-atch

Yes, this morning was wonderful.  And then I became a raving bitch this afternoon.  Could be the sugar withdrawal and the headache.  I'm eating a ton of beans, so getting plenty of carbs.  Must be the sugar and white carbs I've cut out that are causing the headache.  Anyway, the afternoon wasn't as easy as the morning.  Ate 1/2 a piece of fish and 1/2 a prime rib at Houston's for dinner tonight and still not totally full and satisfied.  LOVED that glass of red wine though.  It made me feel like I wasn't depriving myself.

Onward 'till tomorrow my friends......

Friday is only 2 days away!

Produce stickers & 4HB

One of the things that has always driven me NUTS about healthy eating is peeling those stupid stickers off of fruits and vegetables.  SO annoying!!!  A good reason to stick with my CSA and farmers markets.....  Am I alone here?  What I don't like about Farmer's Markets...... all cash and carrying everything with kids in tow.

I'm on the second day of The 4 hour Body Slow-Carb Diet (4HB)  and WOW, I'm loving it.  Seems too good to be true.  I follow 5 rules of what to avoid (no fruit is the toughest one) eat the same foods for 6 days a week and then binge on day 7.  Looks like I will be eating basically (all organic) eggs, beans, avocado, tomato, salad, asparagus, peas, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, chicken, beef, fish and hummus for a while.  Totally fine with me.  On my 7th day I will eat a whole freakin wedge of triple cream brie by myself, burrata, 5 different kinds of chocolate cakes, and all the pasta my body can handle.

I hate being hungry.  I love to eat and feel full, so the fact that I can eat until I'm full and not a pre-portioned plate is extremely appealing to me.  This combo is really good for me and so far, I'm not feeling hungry between meals which are every 4 hours.  Also feeling a little more energy despite my lack of sleep last night thanks to the booby bandit.  I feel lighter and taller too, which is always a good thing.

Did I also mention that up to 2 glasses of red wine per night are not only allowed but encouraged!!??  We shall see if this is all too good to be true soon enough..... now I just have to pick the day of the week to go buck wild.... thinking maybe Friday since that night is our weekly family dinner and my mother in law can cook like nobody's business!  Pass the babaganoush right on over!

Timothy Ferris: 1 crazy dude

I'm not saying how much I weighed this morning because I have a feeling it will SUCK. I'm not going near that scale.

Today is my first day following Timothy Ferris's eating plan in the 4-Hour Body.  Now, I have no illusions that this is an easy program but I just couldn't resist a book that says it's "an uncommon guide to rapid fat-loss, incredible sex, and becoming superhuman" right on the cover.  Forget about the chapter on the 15 minute female orgasm- wha wha what????  I gotta try this!

My best body in my adult life was in 2005.  I had a personal trainer, took hip hop and spinning classes and followed the trainer's eating plan.  I had 3 meals and 2 snacks a day with 3-4 options per meal at a grand total of 1250 calories.  This book says to basically eat the same things every day and on the 7th day, binge and eat whatever crap you want.  I have so much fat that is crazy stubborn and won't melt.  I am praying that this plan will work.  The big caveat:  I'm still breastfeeding.  Until now, when I eat less than 1500 calories a day, lil miss is biting my nipples.  She has 5 teeth now.  I don't want to piss her off.

Today, I am pulling out the trainers old plan and also taking into consideration the foods I like and making a plan of the same foods I am going to eat every day based on Ferriss's plan.  I promise you, there will not be more than 1 salad.  I'd rather be 10 lbs overweight than eat salads every day, let alone more than once a day, which I've seen time and time again on different diets.

Please comment, let me know how you're doing.  What you're struggling with, what progress you've made, what works for you.  We are all on this journey together!!!  

I'm baaa-ack

MY STATS

I always weigh myself in the morning.  My goal is 127.  I am 5'5".
I weighed 135 when I got prego with baby 2 and was 188 at delivery.
Today, 10 months postpartum I am sadly at:

Weight: 148.6

An awful lot has changed since my first- and last- post back in 2009 and at least 5 different "eating plans"!
For starters, the day after my first blog post, I discovered that I was prego again!  My pregnancy was much like the first one.  Very sick, constant puking, eating like crap, too sick to exercise and too ill to care how fat I was getting.  I gained 53 lbs. from conception to delivery and as a breastfeeding Mom, the loss of the weight has been GLACIAL.  I get so pissed off some times and other times, accept it and know that it will come off immediately (HA LOOK AT THAT SLIP!)  I meant eventually.

Okay, so since E. was born, I've run a half marathon with my BFF in NY (I'm in LA.)  I completed 3 weeks of P90X followed by slacking on and off.  Just did the Insanity fit test yesterday, Circuit Works, which is an insane bootcamp here in LA created by Badass Rafael Vergara.  You feel like you will f-ing die.

The Standard Process cleanse that I did 10 months PP with my first daughter A. helped me lose the baby weight to get to 135.  The South Beach diet was the start  on that road after A.  Weight Watchers didn't do a hell of a lot for me, but who the heck knows since I started it when she was 6 weeks old so I was going to lose no matter what, right?

After E., I joined WW briefly but it just wasn't working.  For me anyway; saw another Mom friend yesterday who has practically disappeared.  She's lost 33 lbs. since starting WW in December and is soooo skinny.

I ordered that stupid Diet Solutions thing we all saw the ads for around New Years and actually gained 2 lbs that week.  Nuts do not work for me and I'm sorry, but an apple and a handful of nuts just leaves me FAMISHED.  Through it all, using MyFitnessPal.com is a great tool when I'm motivated enough to keep up with it.

Right now, I am looking at Timothy Ferris's 4-hour Body next to my bed and procrastinating reading that baby by writing this blog.

Did I also mention that I was a veggie once, recently bought "The Kind Diet" and love Skinny Bitch?  But I also love animal protein.  A lot.  Organic always, kosher as much as possible.  Hey, I'm doing my best.

Okay, baby waking up.  Still cosleeping.  Night nursing.  Fun times.

Till tomorrow.....