2 Small Victories

I finally broke the dreaded 180 barrier.  I weighed in today at 179.7.  It took a little longer than I would have liked, but I made it.  Yay me!  Of course, when I pulled on my pants this morning I wondered why they weren't any looser.  And I remembered that I've got all this extra belly flab where baby used to be.  Dang - can't just pay attention to the scale - gotta actually do some exercising and toning too. 

This revelation led to small victory #2 - I ran/walked 3 miles tonight! My in-laws are in town so I took the opportunity to head out this evening to Alki beach for a run.  To get myself back into running I had considered doing a couch to 10K program, but I really can't stand the short periods of walking and running. I feel like you never get into the groove of either.  My favorite way to ease back into it is to run/walk by song.  So, tonight I walked a song and then ran for 2 songs.  My final workout was 3.07 miles in 37:13.  Nothing to brag about as far as time goes, but it felt so good to be back out there!

I like running because it helps get Backyardigans' songs out of my head!

Tomorrow is the West Seattle Grand Parade.  I'll share some of its grandness with you!  The in-laws are flying back to Sacramento which means a little less down time for me. :(

Thankful Thursday

I'm back! My life has been pretty hectic and blogging has taken a back seat. I'm teaching a summer session class on Monday's and Wednesday's for UW. It didn't seem like a big deal when I agreed to do it, but it has been so difficult for me to balance working, eating healthy, exercising, being a good mom and being a good wife. So, the first thing to go was exercise. It's been over a week since I've had a real workout. Soon after I stopped logging in to my fitness pal and overrate a few days. In essence, I give up my me time/focus to keep on top of everything else.

But, I'm not giving up! It's going to be tough, but I know that I can make the small changes I need to find a better balance.

Here are the things I'm thankful for right now

#1. My In-laws. My in-laws are visiting for a week and it has been awesome to have the extra help around the house. They want to spend as much time as possible with the kids which has given. Me time to focus a but more on work. Also, my mother in law is a bit of a neurotic cleaner. I used to take it personally, as a kind of judgment, when she would visit and clean the whole house. Now I'm just grateful that someone other than me is doing it!

#2. Big O turned 2 on Monday!!

He is getting so big and I am just so in love with him!! We had a small get-together with the in-laws, my sister in law, and a few friends. Here's the 2 year old with his favorite present.

Yes, he LOVES Cars.

#3. Sunshine! We've finally got a little sun here in Seattle. I know the rest of the country is enduring a heat wave, but we've been overcast and cold all summer. I'm just excited to get a little warmth in my bones.

Hey, It's Summer in Seattle!

We finally saw summer weather yesterday for the 4th of July. I know the rest of the country keeps complaining about the heat, but I've been dying for a little sunshine up here.

I never do too well eating healthily on holidays. Yesterday was no exception. I found a half eaten carton of trader joes mini milk chelate peanut butter cups that Ian's sister left here in the fridge. Between that, the bottle of Lambec I polished off, and out dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, I definitely went off my healthy eating plan. But today I'm back on track.

We had a mellow fourth. I got to catch up on some more true blood. My friend came over with some sparklers and root beer floats. Oh yeah, I forgot about the floats... Here's Big O's first experience with sparklers.

He never actually held one of the sparklers. He was kinda scared, kinda distracted, and not really sure what was going on. Thank goodness the kid can sleep through anything cuz the people in our hood were setting off fireworks most of the night. Oh, and here's a picture of Baby E inner patriotic duds.

Today was great too. In the morning I took the kids down to Alki playground, which is Big O's favorite. There are tons of Tonka trucks there that he loves to play with.

Baby E just chilled in the stroller.

Then, this afternoon we headed back to Alki. Ian went for a bike ride with Big O. I strapped Baby E into the Bjorn and went for a 2 mile walk. Felt good to get a little exercise, I need to do this more often. :)

I'm thinking I should focus more on just getting out of the house and walking rather than running. I really want to get back into running, but until baby can go with me in the stroller or until we have some extra child care, it's just too hard to get out and do the runs. Am I just being lazy, or realistic?

Small changes, remember

So, this blog is called Big Mama Small Change for a reason. I am a complete perfectionist and making small changes is really freakin hard. I want to do EVERYTHING perfectly.

And of course, I fail every time. In my last post I said I wanted to exercise EVERY day. And, I've been reading more and more about low carb diets. I'm a vegetarian, a breaditarian actually. I live on carbs. When I started this blog my small change was adding fruits and veggies. I took it to the extreme and started obsessing about eating a low carb diet and completely changing my meal plan. Why? Cuz that's who I am.

So last night instead of working out I sat down with a bottle of wine and polished most of it off while watching more True Blood.

I went over my calorie limit and felt pretty damn guilty when I woke up this morning. Have I learned my lesson? Hell no. I'll do it again. But, at least it was just a day and I am back in the saddle, living life imperfectly.

Sunday Goal Check

Weight Update

Sunday could not come quickly enough this week. I really wanted to check my weight earlier in the week, but resisted. The Sunday weigh in helps me stay focused through the weekend. I SO desperately wanted a glass of wine last night, but I didn't think it was worth it.
Today's weigh: 181.3
I met my goal of being under 182! Next week I want to be out of the 180s and into the 170s.
Last week's weight: 182.9
Week loss: -1.6
Beginning weight: 185.6
Total loss:-4.3
Here are this week's pictures:

Belly Bulge has gotta go!

Like the braids? I need a haircut soooo badly!

Fitness
I've worked out everyday since Thursday. I told my husband that I need to commit to exercising everyday until I'm down near my goal weight. Right now I'm just doing 30 minute workouts. Eventually I'll boost it up to 45 minutes or more. Small change, right?!
Thursday: walk 1 mile / run 1 mile
Friday: NTC+ 10 min. elliptical
Saturday: walk 1 mile/ run 1 mile
Sunday: NTC

Other than Friday, I've been exercising after putting BigO to sleep. I'm up late with the baby anyways. The only problem with this is that I have to go to sleep with wet hair. I HAVE to take a shower after I workout. This is not out of vanity. My husband honestly would not let me into bed reeking the way I do after a workout. For now, I don't need to worry too much about the wet hair, but in the winter it would be a big problem.

Family
I tried to do something with BigO every day this week except today. Today was my day to focus on Baby E. She is not feeling well, not sure if it's just gas or constipation, but she cries out in pain and toots a lot. There was a lot of this today.

Imagine ear piercing screams.

Poor thing.
I spent most of the day holding her and trying to keep her happy. I really need to plan something for the 4th of July. We are so lazy about that kind of thing. I want to start thinking of some traditions for our family.

Excited for another week of losing weight, getting back in shape and loving my family!