I haven't really been too reliable in my updating, but that is not too surprising - at least not to me! I wish I could say that the last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, and that I've just been so busy that I couldn't spare a moment for blogging, but that would be a lie.
I've spent the last two weeks almost exclusively sitting on the couch in my living room watching Prison Break, which, frankly, is a bad name for a show that has two and half full seasons that have nothing to do with breaking out of prisons. It is entertaining enough; though, I have to say, the actor who plays the main character is about on par with Keanu Reeves when it comes to facial expressions and went to the Christian Bale school of intimidating voices - that is, he sounds like a man who's been chain smoking for the past 70 years. Also, for some reason, despite the fact that pretty much EVERYONE in the show is a criminal of some kind, they all seem to implicitly trust that when someone hands them a bag or an envelope that it will contain what they expect it to contain, and then they get upset when they finally bother to check hours later only to find out that it's a bag of broken up cement...
Anyways, enough about Prison Broken.
So, as for the program.
The workouts have been going pretty well. They sometimes feel a little futile because you definitely don't work up a sweat doing them, but, as I learnt the hard way, it isn't really advisable to do anything more intense for your abs within a couple weeks of childbirth. I tried to add in some leg raises, and I definitely regretted it afterwards!
Today I went for my first run in nine months. I was happy that my cardio wasn't as bad as I expected, but after running for a very short period of time I started to get major pains in my stomach - not really sure what that was about...
And now I'm rehydrating with orange crush...which gets to the next point...the dreaded, hateful point of healthy eating.
Obviously, I haven't completely cut out junk food (see orange crush reference above), but I am happy to say that I am eating considerably more healthily than before. I've definitely upped my salad intake - admittedly with the help of a maple dressing from Costco - and I've even lowered my pizza consumption.
Finally, the good stuff. Logan is adorable, and he spends a lot of time practicing different facial expressions. I was quite excited last week when he started giving kisses! He also has a very cute quizzical/disgusted face where he squints one eye, and raises one side of his mouth and one nostril.
Anyways, I still have four episodes of Prison Break left and I really want to see how they resolve the fact that everyone in North America should recognize the faces of the main characters and think that they are criminals, considering the number people they have killed, injured or been framed for murdering...
Cheers!
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Day 4 on the alien planet...
So we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy on Friday! He's adorable and happy and has no great respect for the convention of sleeping at night and being awake during the day. So far his main activities don't really involve much by way of actual movement, but he still manages to make some pretty adorable facial expressions, and I can appreciate the fact that his relatively stationary existence at this point lends me freedom to do things other than chase him around - though I look forward to that stage when it comes!
Anyways, I could keep rambling about the baby, but, more to the point of the blog, I have my initial measurements and etc as of 8 Apr:
Weight: approx 196 lbs (I have a pretty cheap scale, but I think that is about right)
Chest: 43 in
Waist: 44 in
Hips: 44 in
Bum: 45 in
Upper leg: 26 in
Mid Calf: 16 1/2 in
Upper Arm: 12 in
And after 2 days on the diet I have rediscovered my complete and total lack of will power when it comes to food. So this should be interesting...
The workout for the first 6 weeks post-natal is pretty basic, but it felt good to just do some of the core exercises that I hadn't done in quite a while now! As for the cardio aspect, I was able to use "walking around Costco" as a legitimate workout...part of me finds that sad and another part finds it incredibly awesome...
Anyways, more to come when I am in a more productive mood!
So we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy on Friday! He's adorable and happy and has no great respect for the convention of sleeping at night and being awake during the day. So far his main activities don't really involve much by way of actual movement, but he still manages to make some pretty adorable facial expressions, and I can appreciate the fact that his relatively stationary existence at this point lends me freedom to do things other than chase him around - though I look forward to that stage when it comes!
Anyways, I could keep rambling about the baby, but, more to the point of the blog, I have my initial measurements and etc as of 8 Apr:
Weight: approx 196 lbs (I have a pretty cheap scale, but I think that is about right)
Chest: 43 in
Waist: 44 in
Hips: 44 in
Bum: 45 in
Upper leg: 26 in
Mid Calf: 16 1/2 in
Upper Arm: 12 in
And after 2 days on the diet I have rediscovered my complete and total lack of will power when it comes to food. So this should be interesting...
The workout for the first 6 weeks post-natal is pretty basic, but it felt good to just do some of the core exercises that I hadn't done in quite a while now! As for the cardio aspect, I was able to use "walking around Costco" as a legitimate workout...part of me finds that sad and another part finds it incredibly awesome...
Anyways, more to come when I am in a more productive mood!
Thursday, 22 March 2012
A Matter of Introduction
As many of you may know, I have spent the last several months in the state of pregnancy. It has been an epic sort of experience, one that can in no way compare to anything else that I have heretofore gone through. The baby is due Easter Sunday, though, as most women who have ever been pregnant can probably relate to, I'm more than willing to have this baby earlier, if it would only hurry itself up.
Due to the nature of my job, I see getting fit again after the baby is born to be very important for me, and over the last few months, I have done a bit of research into programs for just that. As for every question one can ask , the internet was teaming with answers. The problem, though, with asking the internet is that you don't really know if it is telling you the truth and eating exactly 4oz of dark chocolate a day is THE way to lose weight, or if it is simply trying to make you fat.
So I found a program that seemed a bit more legitimate than the chocolate and cotton candy diet, and I thought I would give it a try for myself, just to see if it really did work, or if, like most other things on the internet, it was a beautiful mirage to cover up a bitter disappointing desert. The program is called Mommy Without the Pounds, and, though I do believe the woman is a bit cocky when she suggests that only by using her program will you EVER look the same after birth, having bought the program and read through it, it seems sound to me - but what do I know? The testimonies on the website all seemed pretty awesome, but they could just be more internet liars, and I wished that someone I actually knew and trusted could tell me if the program worked for them.
So, to get to my actual point, the purpose of this blog is to chart my progress with this program after the baby is born, not only so that I actually stick to it, but to show other women whether or not it works and is worth the investment!
When you buy the program, you get workouts, diet guides with the types of foods you should be eating and how much of each, as well as a "goal tracking" document and various sundry other things. There are different diets depending on your build, and if you are breastfeeding there is a different one all together in recognition of the fact that you are going to need to eat more and you will be burning more calories.
The program is divided between 3 stages. The first 6 weeks is just a gentle recovery; the workouts are light and meant more really just to get you moving and using muscles you may not have used as much in recent weeks. The second stage covers from 6 weeks to 3 months and stage three is 3 months and beyond.
How this is going to work is that after my baby is born, I will take my measurements (weight as well as measurements of my thighs, tummy etc), and every week I will post about my success with the program. I will mention whether or not I found that I was full enough following the diet, and whether or not I found that doing the workouts helped me feel more energized, or just more exhausted. And, periodically, I will mention my progress in terms of weight loss and strength building and my personal goals (also, depending on my motivation level, I will post picture updates either here or on my Facebook).
In conclusion, I am exceptionally excited for the baby to come any time now and I hope that other moms, and prospective moms, will find this blog helpful!
Cheers!
Due to the nature of my job, I see getting fit again after the baby is born to be very important for me, and over the last few months, I have done a bit of research into programs for just that. As for every question one can ask , the internet was teaming with answers. The problem, though, with asking the internet is that you don't really know if it is telling you the truth and eating exactly 4oz of dark chocolate a day is THE way to lose weight, or if it is simply trying to make you fat.
So I found a program that seemed a bit more legitimate than the chocolate and cotton candy diet, and I thought I would give it a try for myself, just to see if it really did work, or if, like most other things on the internet, it was a beautiful mirage to cover up a bitter disappointing desert. The program is called Mommy Without the Pounds, and, though I do believe the woman is a bit cocky when she suggests that only by using her program will you EVER look the same after birth, having bought the program and read through it, it seems sound to me - but what do I know? The testimonies on the website all seemed pretty awesome, but they could just be more internet liars, and I wished that someone I actually knew and trusted could tell me if the program worked for them.
So, to get to my actual point, the purpose of this blog is to chart my progress with this program after the baby is born, not only so that I actually stick to it, but to show other women whether or not it works and is worth the investment!
When you buy the program, you get workouts, diet guides with the types of foods you should be eating and how much of each, as well as a "goal tracking" document and various sundry other things. There are different diets depending on your build, and if you are breastfeeding there is a different one all together in recognition of the fact that you are going to need to eat more and you will be burning more calories.
The program is divided between 3 stages. The first 6 weeks is just a gentle recovery; the workouts are light and meant more really just to get you moving and using muscles you may not have used as much in recent weeks. The second stage covers from 6 weeks to 3 months and stage three is 3 months and beyond.
How this is going to work is that after my baby is born, I will take my measurements (weight as well as measurements of my thighs, tummy etc), and every week I will post about my success with the program. I will mention whether or not I found that I was full enough following the diet, and whether or not I found that doing the workouts helped me feel more energized, or just more exhausted. And, periodically, I will mention my progress in terms of weight loss and strength building and my personal goals (also, depending on my motivation level, I will post picture updates either here or on my Facebook).
In conclusion, I am exceptionally excited for the baby to come any time now and I hope that other moms, and prospective moms, will find this blog helpful!
Cheers!
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