Wish me luck!
Before I forget, bebbeh milestones!
On a non-baby note, I want to get back to my pre-pregnant weight. I actually want to lose more than that. I was 153 before I got pregnant (or maybe I was 151? Both numbers bounce in my head...), and I'm 175-177 now (I keep fluctuating). I'm going to take up jogging, but I need to find a good time to do that. Ideally, first thing in the morning would be the time to go, as it would still be cool outside. The problem with first thing in the morning, though, is that it's first thing in the morning. Sometimes I wake up and am ready for the day. Other times, I'm rather sluggish. In order for this to work, I would need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5:30 in the morning, giving me ample time to jog around the neighborhood while AJ keeps an eye on Nathaniel. Then I could get back in plenty of time for AJ to finish getting ready before leaving for work at 6:45. It's a good idea in theory, but I can't guarantee being able to do that until Nathaniel is on a reliable sleep schedule. For instance, this morning, Nathaniel began stirring at 2:30, which woke me. He didn't officially awaken until nearly 4:00 though. I, however, didn't get back to sleep in between. It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep, and then it didn't take a terrible amount of time for me to get back to sleep, but because of waking up then, his awakening at a few minutes to 6:00 wasn't as welcome for me. He fell back asleep around 6:10, but I would have been pushing it for time before AJ would have to leave for work (I figure I won't be out for more than 20 minutes, but I'm allowing for 30 minutes, but I'd also need time to get ready), so I didn't try.
Instead, I've somewhat jogged inside the house a bit today. I say "somewhat" because I know that jogging indoors at a lackadaisical pace is not the same as going for it outdoors. I remember losing weight a few years back and doing my jogging around the old apartment to our Wii Fit. I also remember the first time I went for a run down the path we lived on in western Maryland last summer. The former did not result in a coughing fit that lasted off and on for a good part of the remainder of the day... Still, exercise is exercise. Lately, I've also been doing sit-ups, wall push-ups, jumping jacks, some arm stretches, and some yoga poses. I've also been using my child as a proxy for weight-lifting. I think quite a bit of that has been helping my back. I've been in an awful lot of back pain since Nathaniel was born (I've complained about back pain for years, but this has been worse), but I can already feel a bit of positive change over the past few days.
At any rate, it looks as though evenings will be most convenient for my jogs, even though it'll be rather hot outside. I can jog in the mornings on the weekends though. I wasn't planning on jogging every day of course. The plan is to do so three times a week. Come October, I can take Nathaniel with me, as I have a jogging stroller. The stroller is not meant for infants under six months of age though, which is why I need to wait. I did not foresee this when I asked my mother-in-law to acquire the stroller for me.
I have other ways I can go about losing weight. For example, I have decided that, as of this morning, I will attempt the "Special K Challenge." I feel cheesy doing it, but it seems easy enough. If you have missed those commercials, it involves replacing two meals of your day with two bowls of Special K cereal (or a bowl of cereal and a Special K snack bar-- I'm just opting for two bowls). You can snack a bit, and the side of the cereal box recommends all of these Special K things, but I know they just want my money, so I had a Lunchables earlier for my snack. The Lunchables wanted me to eat Sour Patch Kids and down a CapriSun with my crackers and ham and cheese, but I opted against those. They're in the fridge. AJ is a big fan of Sour Patch Kids, so he'll appreciate the tiny pouch waiting for him.
I also intend on playing DDR on my PlayStation 2 for a bit of time each day or every other day. I've been saying that for a while though. I was going to play while pregnant to stay in shape, but I never did. I need to make sure that it's even possible for me to play in this house without having to venture out to the store. Ya see, this house has zero carpeting, and the hardwood floors are slippery. Therefore, vigorous and spastic bounces on a game pad could prove disastrous. The logical explanation is carpet the house, but we're renting, so that's not an option. Simply throwing a rug down isn't an option because rugs slip up, as we learned when we first moved in and had a little rug in here. Maybe a particular rug with a particular grabby material underneath would work.... In the meantime though, I have a yoga pad that grips the floor rather nicely. The dimensions don't match the game pad though. The game pad is wider, and so the sides will extend beyond the width of the yoga pad. Maybe this won't be a problem though. I just have to try it out. Assuming it works, I'll work my way up to burning 500 calories at a time. I'd say I'd make that my goal for today, but it's probably best to be gradual about it.
My goal weight is 135. I plan on reaching it by November. I don't have a particular date in November figured out, but the month came to mind because I was discussing this plan to Robert the other week and said, "So by the time you see me in Staunton, I'll look totally different." Our next Staunton trip is tentatively set for mid-November. I was planning on reaching that weight before then, but I didn't have a date figured exactly. Forty pounds in five months is reasonable when you break it down. It's safe to lose 2-3 pounds a week, and let's say that there are four weeks in a month (even though that's not exactly right, but let's just say for the sake of simplicity). Four weeks times five months is 20 weeks. Twenty weeks times 2-3 pounds a week is a loss of 40-60 pounds. I'm definitely not going to lose 60 pounds. I mean, I guess I could, but I don't want to. That silly Body Mass Index chart says that I need to be 120ish pounds to be at a healthy weight, but when I was 140 a couple of years ago, I looked fine. My goal weight then though was 130-135 (can't quite remember the exact number I had in mind), but I fell short of that and got lazy. Anyway, I'd like to reach that goal now. I used to weigh 185 pounds, and I managed to lose 45 pounds slowly but surely. Knowing that I did this once before shows me that I can do this now. The worst-case scenario is that I don't lose it as quickly as I intend, but I once read that losing 10-15% of your current weight is considered healthy.
Anyway, that's the gameplan in a nutshell. Wish me luck!
- June 8, 2012: Nathaniel slept through the night (essentially) for the first time. He went to bed around 9:00 that night and awoke a few moments before 5:00 the following morning.
- June 11, 2012: Nathaniel kinda sorta rolled over, with the help of our slightly lopsided daybed.
- June 13, 2012: Nathaniel learned that one is to smile at a camera.
On a non-baby note, I want to get back to my pre-pregnant weight. I actually want to lose more than that. I was 153 before I got pregnant (or maybe I was 151? Both numbers bounce in my head...), and I'm 175-177 now (I keep fluctuating). I'm going to take up jogging, but I need to find a good time to do that. Ideally, first thing in the morning would be the time to go, as it would still be cool outside. The problem with first thing in the morning, though, is that it's first thing in the morning. Sometimes I wake up and am ready for the day. Other times, I'm rather sluggish. In order for this to work, I would need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5:30 in the morning, giving me ample time to jog around the neighborhood while AJ keeps an eye on Nathaniel. Then I could get back in plenty of time for AJ to finish getting ready before leaving for work at 6:45. It's a good idea in theory, but I can't guarantee being able to do that until Nathaniel is on a reliable sleep schedule. For instance, this morning, Nathaniel began stirring at 2:30, which woke me. He didn't officially awaken until nearly 4:00 though. I, however, didn't get back to sleep in between. It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep, and then it didn't take a terrible amount of time for me to get back to sleep, but because of waking up then, his awakening at a few minutes to 6:00 wasn't as welcome for me. He fell back asleep around 6:10, but I would have been pushing it for time before AJ would have to leave for work (I figure I won't be out for more than 20 minutes, but I'm allowing for 30 minutes, but I'd also need time to get ready), so I didn't try.
Instead, I've somewhat jogged inside the house a bit today. I say "somewhat" because I know that jogging indoors at a lackadaisical pace is not the same as going for it outdoors. I remember losing weight a few years back and doing my jogging around the old apartment to our Wii Fit. I also remember the first time I went for a run down the path we lived on in western Maryland last summer. The former did not result in a coughing fit that lasted off and on for a good part of the remainder of the day... Still, exercise is exercise. Lately, I've also been doing sit-ups, wall push-ups, jumping jacks, some arm stretches, and some yoga poses. I've also been using my child as a proxy for weight-lifting. I think quite a bit of that has been helping my back. I've been in an awful lot of back pain since Nathaniel was born (I've complained about back pain for years, but this has been worse), but I can already feel a bit of positive change over the past few days.
At any rate, it looks as though evenings will be most convenient for my jogs, even though it'll be rather hot outside. I can jog in the mornings on the weekends though. I wasn't planning on jogging every day of course. The plan is to do so three times a week. Come October, I can take Nathaniel with me, as I have a jogging stroller. The stroller is not meant for infants under six months of age though, which is why I need to wait. I did not foresee this when I asked my mother-in-law to acquire the stroller for me.
I have other ways I can go about losing weight. For example, I have decided that, as of this morning, I will attempt the "Special K Challenge." I feel cheesy doing it, but it seems easy enough. If you have missed those commercials, it involves replacing two meals of your day with two bowls of Special K cereal (or a bowl of cereal and a Special K snack bar-- I'm just opting for two bowls). You can snack a bit, and the side of the cereal box recommends all of these Special K things, but I know they just want my money, so I had a Lunchables earlier for my snack. The Lunchables wanted me to eat Sour Patch Kids and down a CapriSun with my crackers and ham and cheese, but I opted against those. They're in the fridge. AJ is a big fan of Sour Patch Kids, so he'll appreciate the tiny pouch waiting for him.
I also intend on playing DDR on my PlayStation 2 for a bit of time each day or every other day. I've been saying that for a while though. I was going to play while pregnant to stay in shape, but I never did. I need to make sure that it's even possible for me to play in this house without having to venture out to the store. Ya see, this house has zero carpeting, and the hardwood floors are slippery. Therefore, vigorous and spastic bounces on a game pad could prove disastrous. The logical explanation is carpet the house, but we're renting, so that's not an option. Simply throwing a rug down isn't an option because rugs slip up, as we learned when we first moved in and had a little rug in here. Maybe a particular rug with a particular grabby material underneath would work.... In the meantime though, I have a yoga pad that grips the floor rather nicely. The dimensions don't match the game pad though. The game pad is wider, and so the sides will extend beyond the width of the yoga pad. Maybe this won't be a problem though. I just have to try it out. Assuming it works, I'll work my way up to burning 500 calories at a time. I'd say I'd make that my goal for today, but it's probably best to be gradual about it.
My goal weight is 135. I plan on reaching it by November. I don't have a particular date in November figured out, but the month came to mind because I was discussing this plan to Robert the other week and said, "So by the time you see me in Staunton, I'll look totally different." Our next Staunton trip is tentatively set for mid-November. I was planning on reaching that weight before then, but I didn't have a date figured exactly. Forty pounds in five months is reasonable when you break it down. It's safe to lose 2-3 pounds a week, and let's say that there are four weeks in a month (even though that's not exactly right, but let's just say for the sake of simplicity). Four weeks times five months is 20 weeks. Twenty weeks times 2-3 pounds a week is a loss of 40-60 pounds. I'm definitely not going to lose 60 pounds. I mean, I guess I could, but I don't want to. That silly Body Mass Index chart says that I need to be 120ish pounds to be at a healthy weight, but when I was 140 a couple of years ago, I looked fine. My goal weight then though was 130-135 (can't quite remember the exact number I had in mind), but I fell short of that and got lazy. Anyway, I'd like to reach that goal now. I used to weigh 185 pounds, and I managed to lose 45 pounds slowly but surely. Knowing that I did this once before shows me that I can do this now. The worst-case scenario is that I don't lose it as quickly as I intend, but I once read that losing 10-15% of your current weight is considered healthy.
Anyway, that's the gameplan in a nutshell. Wish me luck!