Eleven Months

Eleven months since my last post.

I’ve gained about 15 pounds since then instead of the 31 I was hoping for by my 31st birthday… but I’ve also gained a baby boy! I’ll count that as a major WIN. (Non-scale victory?) “W” was born July 9.

Life is very slowly getting back to normal as I have returned to work and we are figuring out our routine as a family of three. It is even more important to me now to get and stay healthy so that we can go on family adventures and not be limited by our physical abilities or how we feel! Plus exercise and eating well makes me feel better, which will make me be more “present” mentally and emotionally for W… and my husband, J!

Small changes…

• Walking to work! J & W walked me to work yesterday. We hope to make this a regular thing as much as we can (when weather allows… which may be less now that fall officially starts TOMORROW). It’s over 2 miles one way, with a few hills along the way. Better than caffeine to get the mind awake!
• 21 Day Fix! My mom, sister, and I are all going to do the 21 Day Fix together. I’m pretty excited to give it a try, especially since they’ll be doing it too.

I hope to use this space again to track my progress, keep myself accountable, and share with anyone who may be interested in following or who may be on a fitness journey of their own! (I’ll also be posting to my Instagram account again, @sarahbefit!)

WD1: Jillian Michaels Online, Level 1

• Workout Day: 1
• Activity: Jillian Michaels Online, Level 1
• Duration:   47 minutes
• Calories Burned: 387

I so did not feel like working out tonight. I came home, crashed on my bed for a few, and then somehow managed to talk myself into getting up and doing a Jillian Michaels Online workout… starting over at the beginning of Level 1 again. I used my new-ish 8 pound weights again. I had to lay down at one point, but it was conveniently right before some crunch twists so I needed to be on the floor anyway. I feel pretty good now. 🙂

My reward tonight: a hot bath and bed at a decent hour!

 

 

30

I turned 30 today. It’s been a roller-coaster of a year with many HIGH highs (engagement, married, friends’ babies being born) mixed with some very LOW lows (primarily the loss of my uncle and then my grandmother and all that goes along with those sorts of events).

I’m hoping that 30 will hold many more highs than lows… and on that note, it’s time to get back on the wagon of taking care of myself through better eating and exercise! I’m considering it to be a birthday gift to myself… I deserve it. (Oh, and a full box of keepers from Stitch Fix!)

Some of my friends are trying to lose 30 pounds by the time they turn 30… that’s clearly not happening for me. They only way that would happen is if I had surgery or lost a leg… and neither of those are options in my book. So I’m thinking 30 pounds while I’m 30… or maybe 31 pounds by the time I turn 31. That would give me a solid year (which should be more than enough time if I do it right) to take off the weight, keep it off, and build some muscle in the process.

It’s hard to say what the next year will hold for us, but it will start by taking better care of myself… and then we’ll go from there.

Next week I will join some friends in a 21 day Clean Eating Challenge. Some friends are doing the 21 Day Fix… I am going to do some modified version. Not sure exactly what it will entail yet… definitely no processed foods and no added sugar at the very least. I’ve had a terrible sweet tooth lately so it’s going to be a challenge!

Confession: I had birthday cake for breakfast this morning.

I’m also considering ways that I can reward myself for fitness milestones… pounds and/or inches lost, maybe number of reps of a challenging exercise (burpees? push-ups?) completed in a given amount of time… or a mile run time… I want them to be NON-FOOD rewards. Any ideas for milestones and/or rewards? 

Crustless Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

I’m a Mrs.!

We got married August 23 at my parents’ home in Bremerton. It was perfect.

I didn’t get much exercise in amid the craziness leading up to the wedding and then our honeymoon road trip up the CA-OR-WA coast (we did get in some walking on our trip, but mostly just a lot of driving!)… and I have been having a hard time getting motivated to get back on it. I’ve been trying to refocus my eating as well.

One thing at a time, one day at a time.

The good news… I’ve been feeling very bloated and like I’ve gained a bunch of weight back. I weighed myself this morning for the first time post-honeymoon and was pleasantly surprised that the number wasn’t as high as I expected! Less than half a pound more than my last weigh-in.

I made a crustless quiche last night to have for breakfast the next few days. It’s inspired from a recipe I found on the Jillian Michaels website, but of course doctored to what I had on hand.

Crustless Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

• 1 head of broccoli (about 10 oz), chopped
• 2 cups Spinach & Baby Kale mix (I used Earthbound Power Greens), chopped
• half cup of chopped sweet red pepper, optional
• 4 eggs
• 8 egg whites (or 1 cup of egg whites)
• 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of whole milk
• pepper and garlic, to taste

Heat the chopped broccoli on the stovetop until tender. Add in the chopped greens, peppers, garlic (fresh or dried), and pepper. Transfer to a deep dish 9″ pie plate or cake pan.

Mix the eggs, egg whites, milk, and cheese. Pour over the veggies and stir gently to incorporate and distribute the cheese throughout the mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes.

Serves 6.

Calories 232 | Total Fat 10.5 g | Carbs 9.0 g | Protein 24.7 g

I had it for breakfast this morning (just heated up a slice in the microwave for a minute or so) and it was quite tasty! The original recipe actually called for sour cream instead of milk… I might try it that way next time. I love that I can have something “real” for breakfast without needing to cook in the morning… and it gets me a good amount of veggies–and protein!

WD30: Rest Day and WIW: Week 4

Weigh-in-Wednesday, Week 4

• Pounds Down: -0.4
• Overall Inches Down: 0 (NC -1)
• CWH Inches Down: -0.5

TOTAL

• Pounds Down: +0.8
• Overall Inches Down: -7.25 (NC -9.5)
• CWH Inches Down: -2.0

I decided to include the inches down for just my Chest + Waist/Stomach + Hips in addition to my overall body inches because the changes in some areas balance out the changes in other areas so by the total numbers alone it appears that I’m not making any progress at all! My calves keep growing while most other areas are shrinking! (Darn calves…)

If I take out my calf measurements, my overall inches lost jumps to a total of 9.5 inches!

I’m down a little bit in weight from last week, but still a little over my starting weight. The funny thing is, I actually don’t want to lose too much before my wedding–I’m more interested in toning! That may be a little backwards for most soon-to-be-brides. My dress fits perfectly as it is, and I don’t want that to change!

There are only 10 days to go until our wedding day!! Post-wedding and honeymoon I hope to refocus on my eating habits and start tracking again… I just don’t have the mental energy to do it right now!

As I promised yesterday, I’ve decided to finally post some progress photos! I’m a bit nervous to be posting such real and honest photos here.

Without further ado, here’s about 3.5 weeks progress (July 17 to August 11… sorry about the blurriness on the first one!):

 Inches Lost July 17-August 13

• CHEST: -0.75
• WAIST/STOMACH: -0.75
• HIPS: -0.5
• R UPPER ARM: -.75
• L UPPER ARM: -.5
• R THIGH (MID): -2.75
• L THIGH (MID): -2.75
• R CALF (MID): +1.0
• L CALF (MID): +1.25

There aren’t HUGE differences, but I DO see progress (even if it’s subtle)! And that excites me.

It takes four weeks for you to notice your body changing, eight weeks for your friends to notice, and twelve weeks for the rest of the world to notice.

I’m at the 4-week mark, which makes me feel better about the subtle changes, and it makes me look forward to future progress photos the more I push myself to change on this journey of mine!

To track and calculate my inches down per week, I measure my bust, waist/stomach (where I bend), hips, right and left thigh (upper and mid), right and left calf, right and left upper arm, and right and left lower arm each Wednesday. I add the total inches and subtract from the previous week. I am not completely consistent in where or how I take the measurements as much as I try. But it’s close and it still tracks my progress, so it’s all good in my book. NC = No Calves. CWH = Chest + Waist/Stomach + Hips.