Personal Training - it's Christmas!

My original goal when I started personal training in August was to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight by Christmas.  About halfway through I realized I wasn't losing as much weight because I've been gaining muscle along the way, so I changed my goal to be able to wear my pre-pregnancy clothes.  I have met that goal!  I'm not to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm basically the same size.  However, I feel better than I did before I got pregnant, because I'm in better shape.  I'm eating better.  I have more energy.  And really, that's what it's about - being healthy.

I had a little bit of a setback emotionally when I went to a checkup this past week and saw that my BMI is considered "obese."  I mean, I know I'm overweight, but I didn't remember that I was in the obese range.  If I lose 2 more kilos, I will be in the "overweight" range.  But the thing with BMI is that it doesn't take into account the muscle mass I've gained in the past few months.  I would be interested to see what my body fat measurements are with calipers, but I didn't do that when I started, so it would still be hard to see how I've improved.  Anyway, when I talked about it with my trainer, she agreed with me that, while I'm not where I need to be, BMI is not the best measurement of a person doing strength training.  Ironically, my original goal weight when I started trying to lose weight before I got pregnant, is the highest weight in the "normal" BMI range.  I had actually picked that weight because it is what I weighed in college, and I felt it was an appropriate weight for my body and bone structure.  But now if I'm gaining muscle mass along the way, I think a better goal for me would be to look at my jeans size.  I'd like to go down one more jeans size, but not more than two sizes.  Also, my belly is still proportionally a little bigger than I'd like, but it's much better than it was.

I've decided that I'm going to continue with personal training for a while longer, until I get to a place where I want to just maintain.  I'm realizing that at this point, I wouldn't push myself enough physically at the gym to get the results I want.  I need someone else to help me know how much I can do. 

And of course, what started out as an experimental diet has become a lifestyle for me.  I originally only planned to do the "Sugar Detox" temporarily, but it has made me feel so much better to eat a lower-carb diet.  I have more energy and I no longer have "sugar crashes".  It will be harder in some ways as we spend six months in the US next year and travel a lot, but I want to eat well as much as it is within my control.  If we go to someone's house, I will eat what they serve me, but if we go to a restaurant, I will order a low-carb option.  I'm thinking about having one "cheat" day per week, where I can splurge a little, just for the emotional strength to keep going for the longer term.

So for a before and after picture, I found some pictures I took in June (at that point I was in the middle of the C25K but I hadn't yet done the Sugar Detox) and recreated them tonight.  The only thing I changed was that my navy leggings in the June pictures were maternity and I put them in storage, so I wore gray leggings.  Also, it's kind of funny that my smile is bigger in June, but I'm really tired and I didn't notice that I didn't have a good smile in my after pictures.  I promise I'm happy!  :)

Cold Weather Food Capsule

We *sort of* have a new cold weather food capsule going, so I thought I'd share.  Basically, I've been trying to make the switch from salad to soup.

Breakfast hasn't changed much, but we have made sweet potato pancakes a few times, which is a fun way to mix up the routine.

For lunch, I've started making two different vegetable puree soups: green (broccoli/green beans/peas, seasoned with parsley) and orange (sweet potato/carrots/cauliflower, seasoned with sage).  The orange soup has a little bit more carbs, but not too bad.  We usually eat them with ham and cheese rolled up.  Sara eats ham, cheese, and cut up vegetables, because she refuses to eat "baby food."  :)  I had aspirations of making other soups for lunch (chili, chicken vegetable), but so far we've had chili for dinner and never made chicken soup.  We also found a restaurant that delivers with a great cream of broccoli soup and grilled chicken, which we order quite a bit.  Occasionally, I still have salad if we're out at McDonald's or Subway.

For dinner, we have had chili, tacos, or a meat (salmon or burgers, usually) with sautéed vegetables (two of either broccoli, carrots, Brussel sprouts).  We also recently started making spaghetti again.  We've tried spinach noodles, but I'm looking forward to trying a spiralizer I bought recently to make zucchini noodles.  We made our own sauce for the first time last night, since the store-bought kind has sugar in it.

What looks best? I'd like your opinion.

Lately I've been experimenting to see what shapes are most flattering on my body.  I thought maybe it would be helpful to expand beyond my and my husband's opinions.  The better I know what looks best on me, the better I can narrow down my wardrobe.  Which do you think looks best, and why?  Please be kind and constructive!  :)

1. green maxi skirt
2. navy maxi skirt
3. green short dress
4. navy short jersey skirt
5. navy short circle skirt
6. brown corduroy pencil skirt

 (side view of the same skirts, dress not pictured)

1. tall cognac boots
2. ankle cognac boots
3. short brown boots w/ heel
4. metallic flats

(another church outfit I've worn lately)

Capsule Wardrobe - Fall Oct-Nov 2017

For the first time in a while, I decided to try a capsule without teal as one of my colors.  To keep it more fall-ish, I decided to use olive green instead.  Traditional fall colors are some of the best for my coloring as a "Warm Autumn/Warm Spring," so I made this capsule as an experiment to see how I feel without teal.

Colors: Navy, cream/white, burnt orange, olive green

Shirts:
Chambray
Orange/navy plaid flannel
Dark green flowy
Navy long-sleeved tee
White short-sleeved tee
Olive short-sleeved tee
Navy short-sleeved tee
Cream/navy 3/4 sleeve tee

Sweaters/Blazers:
Burnt orange blazer
Navy 3/4 sleeve blazer
Cream/navy stripe blazer (not pictured)
Navy open sweater
Cream/navy stripe open sweater (not pictured)

Bottoms:
Dark denim skinny jeans
Medium wash bootcut jeans
Dark green corduroy
(Wishlist: olive jeans)
Brown leggings (not pictured)
Navy leggings (not pictured)

Dresses/Skirts:
Denim shirtdress
Olive green dress
Burnt orange dress
Navy maxi skirt? (not pictured)
Navy/white striped maxi skirt? (not pictured)

One of my 3 church outfits

Accessories:
Brown/orange blanket scarf
Navy/white blanket scarf
Burnt orange scarf
Dark green scarf
Navy scarf
Burnt orange winter scarf (not pictured)

Shoes:
Navy slip-on sneakers
Short brown boots (w/ heel)
Short brown boots (flat)
Tall brown boots

Outerwear (not pictured):
Navy jacket
Green trench raincoat
Dark green puffer vest
Brown puffer winter coat
(Wishlist: stretchy denim jacket? Olive jacket?)

Capsule Wardrobe - August-September 2017 (size Large)

When I was in the US in July, I bought some new clothes that fit me currently.  Most of my clothes were too small, and I felt so self-conscious wearing them. I had gone through all of my clothes in June to make a list of what I wanted to buy (see this post).  I ended up getting a really nice collection of things from Old Navy outlet, which I finished out at Kohl's.  I also bought a few pairs of shoes at the outlets.  Overall, I'm really happy with my purchases.  After we got back home at the beginning of August, I made a capsule wardrobe for August-September.  I've discovered that 2-month capsules work better for me, because the weather is more consistent.

I actually started writing this post mid-August but never finished, and I think it's really interesting to look at what I planned vs. what I actually used.  

This was my capsule:

Bottoms:

1. Skinny jeans cuffed
2. Bermuda jean shorts
3. Navy striped maxi skirt
4. Navy/brown pattern maxi skirt
5. Army green flowy pants
6. Elephant pants
7. Navy knee-length skirt
8. Blue/green knee-length skirt
9. Navy leggings?
10. Brown leggings?

I wore the bermuda jean shorts almost every day.  I really am just a jeans girl.  I also wore the long jeans cuffed when it was a little cooler.  I wore the green flowy pants several times, mostly to the park.  Unfortunately, my elephant pants got a hole in them, so I can't wear them anymore.  :(  I'm hoping to ask one of Cameron's classmates to pick me up another pair in Thailand.

I've realized that it works perfectly if I have exactly 3 outfits to wear to church.  I can rotate them and it doesn't seem like I'm wearing the same thing too often.  It made it incredibly simple for me to decide what to wear.  I bought a solid navy maxi skirt (not pictured above), and I rotated it with the navy striped maxi skirt and the navy/brown pattern maxi skirt.  I couldn't wear the shorter skirts yet, because I needed to wear longer shorts under the skirts to keep my legs from rubbing together, so I never wore them at all.  I also never wore my leggings, because it was too hot.

These are the three outfits I wore to church:

Continuing my capsule:

Dresses:
1. Army green mid-thigh
2. Denim shirtdress
3. Navy floral (special occasion)

I never wore any of these dresses, because they were too short.  I will be able to wear them with tights/leggings when it gets colder.

Tops:
1. Pink lacy tank
2. Jewel green leaf tie-back tank
3. Cream/navy striped tank
4. Chiang Mai tank
5. White tee
6. Jewel green tee
7. Teal lacy square neck tee
8. Navy tee
9. San Diego tee
10. Navy striped lace-up tee
11. Brown batwing tee (replace?)
12. Teal lacy flowy vest

I wore most of these, except for the Chiang Mai tank (still a little too tight) and the brown batwing tee (which I would've worn with the elephant pants that got a hole).  I think my capsules tend to have more tops because I have so little variety with bottoms.  I basically just wear jeans all the time, except for church.  I'm wanting to try colored jeans, but it's hard to find them in a curvy fit, and my size is still changing, so I don't want to invest too much money on pants that may only fit for a few months.

Shoes:
1. Brown teva flip flops
2. Tan strappy sandals
3. Brown Sketchers wedges
4. Navy walking shoes
5. Navy wedges (not pictured)
6. Teal gym shoes (not pictured)
7. Black/pink running shoes (not pictured)

I wore all of these, except for the navy wedges and the black/pink running shoes.  I found it easier to wear the same shoes to church every week, and these brown wedges are slightly more comfortable than my navy wedges.  I really want to find a tan strappy wedge, but I haven't found the perfect pair yet.  Obviously comfort is a top priority for me for shoes, especially since I do a lot of walking in the city.

It's really interesting how, since I got pregnant, I've been forced to live with a smaller set of clothing - first for maternity, and then now since most of my pre-pregnancy clothes are too small.  This time has helped me separate myself from a lot of the clothes that I used to wear and further define my uniform and what's most important in my wardrobe.  When I set out to buy this size large capsule, with the hope it would only be temporary, I wanted to buy only the essentials to make me feel good in my clothes but not have a bunch of things I didn't need.  I feel like I can better pare down my wardrobe in the future and not just put back in my closet all things size medium.  I know better what I actually wear on a regular basis.

Personal Training - Week 6 Thoughts

Well, the good news is that I'm down about an inch (3 cm) overall!  The training is going as it should.  It's hard, and I'm sore, but it's ok. 

But honestly I'm just sick of eating like this.  It's so hard.  I miss eating junk food and carbs.  I mean, I eat some carbs, like carrots and fruit, but I've been eating healthy like this since June.  That's 3 1/2 months.  I know it's supposed to be a lifestyle change, but a part of me wants to stop at some point and go back to eating like I used to.  I just want to sit around, eat pizza and chocolate chip cookies, and be skinny and have loads of energy.  As it is, I'm doing personal training, I'm walking more, I'm eating salad, and I'm still not skinny and I have more energy than when I started, but I'm still tired a lot.  And sore.  Some diets incorporate "cheat days", but I'm not cheating.  I am however planning to eat one chocolate cupcake on Sara's birthday.  That's a month from now, which feels like forever. 

I'm eating so healthy and it is so much work.  It does taste good, but not as good as a chocolate topped donut.  Which by the way is one of the things we count in one of Sara's new books - 4 chocolate topped donuts.  I want to eat them all every time I read it.  And she loves that book.  She wants to read it over and over. 

But anyway.  I know I'm complaining a lot.  We are in a good routine with what we're eating, which helps make it easier.  I wouldn't yet call it a food capsule, but we're getting there.  Also, pretty soon I would like to start having soup instead of salad as it gets colder outside.  I should be able to mostly use my regular soup recipes, but I just won't be able to add bread/crackers as much as I used to.  This new way of eating is all a big learning curve. 

Breakfast every day: scrambled eggs w/ spinach and half a tomato

Lunch every day: salad w/ lettuce, tomato, avocado, carrots, ham, olive oil, & Italian seasoning

(Sometimes I have a salad from Subway or McDonald's instead.)

Dinner every night: meat (chicken, beef, or salmon) and vegetables

I did change a few things from the Sugar Detox, since we finished it and are now just on maintenance.  A nutritionist I work with suggested I eat high protein/low carb/low fat, so I'm not limiting my servings of dairy, just switching them to low-fat versions when possible.  The Sugar Detox was closer to a high fat diet.  I still haven't found an easy high protein snack instead of cashews/peanuts, which are high in fat (good fat, but still fat).  It would be a lot easier if I liked yogurt, but I just hate it.  I can only tolerate it as a substitute for sour cream.  I keep telling myself I will make some ranch dip with yogurt, but I haven't done it yet.  I've also started eating salmon more frequently.  I usually have one serving of fruit a day, and occasionally a piece of dark chocolate.  I want to try sweet potato pancakes, but I haven't yet.

So that's how it's going.  I'm looking forward to eating one cupcake in a month, and I might also eat whatever I want for Thanksgiving.  I wish I had a better attitude about this, but all I can think about are the foods I'm not allowed to have.  It feels like a punishment.  But I'm pressing on.  I'm really proud of the results I've had so far, and I know that I can reach my goals if I keep working hard.

Personal Training - Week 2 Thoughts

I'm starting realize that most likely Thursday will be my hardest day of the week, making actually Friday my hardest day of the week.  I go to the gym Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Thursday I am still sore from Tuesday.  And since the soreness is worst the day after the workout, Fridays are the hardest.  This Thursday was by far my hardest day yet, which was compounded by Sara waking up at 4:30AM that day and not going back to sleep.  But the workout was harder too - I maxed out on reps of lifting my arm over my head.  I literally couldn't lift my arm higher than my shoulder!  Crazy feeling.  I took some Aleve before I went to bed on Thursday in anticipation of waking up sore, but it ended up being so much worse than I thought.  Cameron had meetings all morning on Friday, and Sara was getting into everything, as usual.  Mostly she likes to try to eat our shoes and electrical cords, so it's pretty important to be on top of her every second.  It was getting to be time for her morning nap, but she just wasn't acting sleepy.  I was hurting so much that I did something I've never done before - I put her in bed with a toy and sat on the couch.  I just couldn't pick her up anymore, and I needed to put her where she would be safe.  Thank goodness she didn't get upset, and she actually fell asleep on her own 10 minutes later, so I didn't feel so terrible.  As soon as she went to sleep, I did too.  When I woke up, the pain was even worse, so I took 4 ibuprofen.  Two Aleve and 4 ibuprofen, and it barely took the edge off.  I was still hurting.  I knew this journey was going to be hard, but man was yesterday hard.  I ended up taking another nap after Cameron got home.  Then when we were making dinner, I literally didn't have the strength to cut the cabbage, so I had to ask Cameron to do it for me.  I'm feeling better today, still taking some pain medicine, but not as much.  I should add that my legs and my abs are sore as well, but they just aren't as noticeable because the soreness in my arms is so intense.  But climbing our stairs wasn't easy.

**EDIT: In my negativity, I forgot to mention that I'm down 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds)!  I also measured myself, I have slimmed down just a little bit in several areas!

Fitness Goals and Personal Training

I decided that I would make August-Christmas a big push for weight loss and better fitness.  We started the Sugar Detox again on August 3, and I started personal training last week.  I'm writing this post mostly to have a record of my goals and how I'm feeling at this beginning point.

My Goals:
1. Weigh the same or less than I weighed when I got pregnant
2. For my stomach to be smaller (in inches) than my chest
3. To be able to wear mid-thigh shorts/skirts/dresses without my legs rubbing together so much that it hurts

My Motivation:
1. To be able to run and play with Sara
2. To have more energy
3. To have more freedom in the clothes that I can wear

I was so nervous about beginning personal training, but my former Zumba instructor Margo is doing a lot of personal training now, so that helped me feel more comfortable.  I knew that I could trust her to do a great job.  I wasn't sure if she had worked with many people my size, but she has been incredible at modifying exercises so I can do them.  I know that by continuing to build up my muscles with the modified versions, I will eventually be able to do the full exercise.  For example, I've never in my whole life done a proper push-up, and she tells me I will be able to if I keep working.  She's so gracious about my shortcomings, but doesn't cut me any slack about what I AM able to do.  I've been pretty sore and tired, but I know it's all for my good.

I haven't done the Sugar Detox perfectly this time around, but I'm following it pretty closely.  The very few small cheats I've done were not that serious - I had some watermelon when I can only have berries and apples this week, I ate one slice of pizza when I went to a party and there wasn't anything else to eat.  Overall, I feel good, and it has been much easier this time around.

I'm not 100% sure if I will continue with the Sugar Detox.  Margo suggested that I think about seeing a nutritionist.  I'm going to see how things go as is for a few weeks and then decide if I need to change my diet plan.

Packing Cubes

If it drives you crazy trying to find your stuff in a big messy suitcase, packing cubes may be your new favorite thing.  They are definitely mine.  I had read about them on a clothing blog and wanted to get them for a long time, but I finally bought some from Amazon while I was at my parents' house.  I used them to pack my suitcase (which also included everything for Sara) for our conference last week.  It was incredible how helpful they were to keep our things separated, not only for packing, but for the entire duration of the conference.  I never had to dig around for something I thought I had packed - everything was in its place.  I'm probably never going to go on a trip without them ever again.

First, I laid out potential outfits for Sara.  I had to reuse some of the pants, because I didn't have enough for every day, but it worked out fine.  (Even though it is summer, Sara wears pants every day so she doesn't hurt her knees crawling.)

Normally, I put clothes in my suitcase my category, but at my mom's suggestion I decided to pack Sara's clothes by putting outfits together.  I also added a few dresses/rompers, just in case, and fit everything perfectly into one packing cube!

I also put Sara's bibs, burp cloths, sweaters, socks, and bathing suit into a smaller sized packing cube.

Sara's toiletry box fit perfectly inside her bath seat, and putting her towels on top kept everything together.  I was able to fit the packing cubes around to make it all fit nicely in the suitcase. 

For my clothes, I put together some outfits (I was in a hurry and didn't take photos) and put them in a packing cube.  I put my tank tops, undergarments, bathing suit, etc.  in another packing cube.

The packing cubes also came with a laundry bag, which I used as stored in the inside pockets of the top of the suitcase.  I used the packing cubes all week long - if I planned to re-wear an item, I put it back in the cube, if not, I put it in the laundry bag.  It helped keep me from just throwing things in the suitcase and then later struggling to find them.  It was incredible!  Kind of like having drawers inside a big suitcase.

Clothing Purge and Packing June 2017

I think this is the first time in my entire life I've been packed for a trip earlier than the day before.  It's Saturday, and we will leave our apartment at 3:30AM Monday morning.  On Thursday evening, I put all, and I mean ALL, of my clothes on the couch bed in the guest room.  I knew that with a baby it would take me more than one day, so I had asked Cameron to pull out the couch bed for me to have space to spread out my clothes.  A friend of mine came over and helped me do the initial sort: trash, give away, too small, maternity favorites, and keep. 

All of my clothes on the couch bed

We got through almost all of them in just a few hours, and I finished yesterday (Friday).

The clothes in the back are sorted, the clothes in the front left for the next day.

All the "keep" clothes

Bags of clothes to give away

"Maternity Favorites" and "Too Small"

Also on Friday, I went through the "keep" clothes again and made an inventory.  I wanted to see where I have "holes" in my wardrobe, so I will make wise choices about what clothes to buy when we're in the States.  Here is my inventory:

Jeans – 2

Jean shorts/capris – 0 (taking maternity shorts to US)

Tank tops – 15 (almost all size M, 4 are maternity)

Zip-up hoodie – 1 (black, want to replace with diff color)

Sweaters (regular) – 10

Work-out gear:

                Leggings – 3 (1 long, 2 capri)

                Shorts – 3 (2 are too small)

                T-shirts – 4

                Tank tops – 3

Sentimental t-shirts – 12

Solid t-shirts – 15 (almost all snug/not flattering)

Short-sleeved pattern/dressy – 1

¾ sleeved shirts – 1 (striped, snug/not flattering)

Long-sleeved shirts – 5 (1 striped, 1 w/ writing)

Thermal winter gear:

                Shirts – 2 (both white)

                Pants – 2 (1 white, 1 black)

Purses/bags:

                Large day bag – 1 (need to replace)

                Large hobo bag – 1 (reversible)

                Medium crossbody – 1 (can fit water bottle)

                Small crossbody – 1

                Small clutch – 1

                Small drawstring gym bag – 1

Hoodies – 2

Leggings – 5 (1 fleece, 1 house only, 2 are maternity)

Flowy pants – 2

Warm sweatpants – 3

Medium weight sweatpants – 3

Skirts – 4 (1 corduroy, 1 maxi, 2 knee-length, all snug)

Vests – 1 (teal flowy)

Dresses:

                Sleeveless – 2 (maxi)

                Short-sleeved – 6 (1 use as shirt, 3 wrap/snug, 1 fancy, 1 maxi maternity)

                ¾ or Long-sleeved – 3 (1 flowy, 2 clingy/snug, all knee-length)

Button-up shirts – 3 (2 flannel, 1 chambray)

Romanian “ia” shirt – 1

Thin open sweaters – 2

Warm open sweaters – 4 (2 are cropped)

Denim jacket – 1

Blazers – 2 (orange & navy)

Warm poncho – 1

Scarves – 17 (2 blanket, 2 thin)

Shoes:

                Tennis shoes – 2

                Casual flip-flops – 1 (brown Tevas)

                Comfy walking shoes – 2

                Dress sandals – 4 (wedges)

                Ankle boots – 2

                Dressy ballet flats – 1 (metallic)

                Tall boots – 3 (tan, black, and navy rain boots)

                “Hiking” tennis shoes – 1 (replace?)

Need/Want to buy:

Swimsuit – 2

Jeans shorts/capris – 2

Tank tops – replace collection w/ size L

Zip-up hoodie – 1 neutral but not black

Work-out gear:

                Shorts – 1 size XL

                T-shirts – 1 w/ inspiring quote

                Long-sleeve – 2 w/ inspiring quote

Solid t-shirts – replace collection w/ size L/more flattering

Purse – large brown leather day bag that can hold laptop

Leggings – navy, brown

Skirts – replace collection?  High-waisted?  A-line? Solids & patterns?  Denim?

Dresses – Short-sleeved & long-sleeved, A-line, wrap? Solids & patterns?  Denim?

Blazers – pink? Green? Patterned? Springy?

Warm-open sweater – anything but navy

Casual flip-flops – navy and/or tan Tevas?

Dress sandals – strappy tan neutral wedges

Tall boots – dark brown

“Hiking” tennis shoes/boots

A lot of my clothes I have had for a very very long time, some longer than 10 years.  I'm looking primarily to replace my tank tops, solid t-shirts, and dresses.  Most of them are not only too small - they accentuate my waist.  Before I got married, I used to do 100 crunches every night, but since I stopped and my belly got stretched from pregnancy, I really don't want to accentuate my waist these days.  I'm looking for a more relaxed fit.  But by "replace", I don't mean that I plan to necessarily buy the same number that I had before.  I used to want to have everything in every color, but now I'm narrowing my color scheme down, so I'm looking primarily for brown, navy, white, teal, burnt orange, pink, and green. 

 
Today (Saturday) I went through the clothes again to pack for our trip.  I went pile by pile, setting aside the clothes I want to pack and putting the rest back in my closet.

Folded clothes that I'm not packing

Hanging clothes that I'm not packing

My suitcase

Sugar Detox - Days 15-18

It's been a few days since I've written about the sugar detox, because we never did make a menu for the week, and not much has changed.  As I said in my last post, we ate the same thing on Day 15 as Day 14, because we had leftovers.  But we did eat our 1 oz of dark chocolate, and it was AMAZING!  I ate mine with some coffee while working on our finances, and it was a great pick-me-up.

Fruit & yogurt parfait

Wednesday morning (Day 16), we were out of eggs.  :(  Cameron had been wanting to try a fruit & yogurt parfait, so we decided to try it for breakfast.  I have always HATED yogurt, but recently I've noticed that I can't tell a difference if it is savory, like as a substitute for sour cream in tacos.  We had gotten the berries on Tuesday with our grocery order, and they were really good - way better than the frozen ones.  I had tried to order plain granola, but it turns out it was actually a cereal with some other seeds and things in it, but it didn't have any sugar, so we decided to use it for the parfait.  It was pretty much what I expected - disgusting - but I managed to eat it all without gagging.  We didn't have any other diet-friendly food I could eat for breakfast, and I didn't want to go to the store.  It felt to me like I just ruined perfectly good berries.  Plus, I used up my 2nd serving of dairy for the day at breakfast, so I couldn't have any cheese for lunch or dinner.  Also, as I suspected, I got hungry earlier than I do when I have eggs.  We ended up ordering making taco salad for lunch, which wasn't as good w/o the yogurt, but it helped that we had avocados.  I've come to really like our taco salads, and I never thought I could like a taco salad w/o tortilla or tortilla chips.  We do put corn in it, though, which is really good.  We just ordered Subway salads for dinner.  I ate my chocolate in the afternoon again while I was working on the finances.

Thursday (Day 17) we had our usual eggs and tomato for breakfast.  We had the same lunch and dinner as Wednesday - taco salad for lunch and Subway salad for dinner.  Since the taco salad was ok w/o cheese, I saved my cheese for dinner.  I had half my chocolate in the afternoon and half after dinner for dessert.

Friday (Day 18) again back to our usual breakfast.  For lunch, I decided to try to make quinoa and add it to our salad.  We cooked the chicken on our new George Foreman grill, and it is so much more tender and juicy than cooking it in a pan.  It was the regular Italian salad plus quinoa.  I found it to be incredibly filling.  We both liked the quinoa, and we talked about maybe trying to use it to make Chinese stir-fry dishes in the future.  For dinner, we are planning to make a hash like we did on Monday, but with sweet potatoes.  Since I won't need/want cheese for dinner, I had it with lunch.


Tomorrow (Day 19), we will eat the same thing as today.  Then Sunday (Day 20) will be our packing day, since we leave for the US early early Monday morning.  So, we are planning to have McDonald's salads for lunch and Subway salads for dinner.  Easy with no cooking and no cleanup, but still within our diet.

When we go to the US, we will be starting week 4, in which we can add 2 starches per day, such as bread and rice.  It doesn't mention it, but I would consider white potatoes to be a starch just like bread/rice, so I think we will also consider potatoes as an option.  It will be really helpful to be able to eat a sandwich or potatoes while we are traveling.  We are not going to stress over keeping our diet while we are in the US.  We will probably indulge a little in some of our favorite foods that we miss, but overall we are shooting to keep the principles of the diet.


I'm a bit frustrated that I haven't lost any weight, but I do feel better, and I really believe I have lost my addiction to sugar.  I haven't experienced any "crashes" where I feel lightheaded and need to eat, which used to happen daily.  Cameron has been eating exactly the same things as me, and he's lost 4 kg (8.8 lbs).  I did lose one inch on my belly and hips since I measured myself mid-May, so that's encouraging.  And I finished the C25K running program yesterday, which feels good.  I have a lot more energy and feel better overall.  I just wish that my clothes fit and that I didn't still look pregnant.  My waist at the bellybutton is 2 inches bigger than my chest.  :(  I'm hoping to find some more flattering tops and maybe dresses when we're in the US and buy a pair of jean shorts/capris to wear this summer.  I don't want to buy too much, because I'm going to keep trying to lose weight, but I also don't want to feel frustrated every time I open my closet, because nothing looks good.  When we return in August, I'm planning to look into personal training to start some weight training to hopefully help increase my metabolism.  This isn't easy, and so far I haven't seen the results on the scale that I was expecting, but I'm going to keep trying.

June 29, 2017

April 11, 2017

Baby Sara's Summer Clothes 2017

Because we're going to the States soon, I wanted to take an inventory of Sara's clothes.  I counted and categorized all her size 9 month clothes.

Sara's 9 month clothes categorized on the desk (there are a few more in the dirty laundry)

Sara's dresses and rompers (in between Cameron's jacket and her old winter coats)

Swimsuit – 2               

Short-sleeved onesies

            Color/pattern –2

White – 4  

Short-sleeved shirts – 6

Sweaters – 2 (+1 pink size 6 months)

Dresses/rompers – 12

Leggings – 4

Jeans – 0

Shorts – 2

Skirts – 1

Sleepers

                Short-sleeved – 1

                Long-sleeved w/ feet – 1 (wear in US w/ AC)

Socks – 10

Needs:

Color/pattern short-sleeved onesies – 4

Leggings – 4

Denim shorts – 1 

Lately, she's been wearing short-sleeved onesies and leggings around the house, because she needs something that covers her knees when she scoots around.  I'm bringing the sweaters to the States, because it will be hot outside but cold inside.  They don't use AC as much here, so she's not used to it. I originally put that she needs more color/pattern short-sleeved onesies and leggings to make 10 of each, but my mom already bought her 4 onesies and 2 leggings.  

She's ready to go!  :)