All wrapped up

Last week was a weird week all around. As I fumble around trying to figure out what my calorie zone and WW points should be, I've some how lost 2.4lbs. How I have no idea. I'm chalking it up to the pregnancy (although I'm not dealing with morning sickness) and maybe (I hope) the ankle weights I'm using while walking. Here's how the week wrapped up.

Sat

Food: 1891 calories, 29WWP
Exercise: Walk 33 min-1.51mi

Sun
Food: 1342 calories, 46WWP

Exercise: day off

Mon
Food: 1401 calories, 35WWP
Exercise: Walk 39min- 1.71mi

Tues

Food: 1588 calories, 31.5WWP

Exercise: Walk 30min- 1mi

Wed

Food: 1341 calories, 29WWP
Exercise: 1 hour mopping floors

Thurs
Food: 1619 calories, 36WWP
Exercise: Walk 33min- 1.4mi

Fri
Food: 2093 calories, 43.5WWP

Exercise: 20min- .75mi

As you can see... i was ALL over the board food wise. It was CRAZY!!! How the heck did I lose weight? Exercise wise, I only officially missed 1 day. Wed I didn't go walking, but i also stood for 2 hours in my kitchen working on a diaper cake for one of my best friends, and then spent an hour mopping my floors. So that was exercise enough for that evening. Friday when i got home from shopping, I was tired, when the kiddo asked to go home after walking for 20 minutes (she was also tired) I said OK. :) LOL So how the heck did I lose weight? I don't know...

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I decided a couple of things HAVE to happen this week. I'm going to keep things at the 28 WWP that i decided on for the pregnancy and calorie wise, i think adhering to ONLY the 28 will help bring those down too so that I'll be more in the 1200-1500 range consistently. I SERIOUSLY need to adhere to said points/calories and not rely on my FP points, etc... Because this week was probably a fluke. At least in my eyes, I'm finally getting the whole exercise thing down. I took yesterday off because of the baby shower. But today starts strength training and walking.

Before I go, I'll leave you with a picture of the diaper cake I made. :) I'm so proud of it. :) And thankfully, she (and everyone else) loved it. :)

Always,
Jules

It's been an interesting week

This week has been a very oddly strange week. But quite normal. If normal is strange. hahaha!!

I haven't been on because I feel like I'm void of words. Which is weird for me. If you knew me in person... I'm a talker, if you haven't already gotten that inclination from my posts. :)

I've been good at walking all week. I'm averaging 1.5 miles in 30 minutes. This week I started adding ankle weights to my legs for the entire walk until it's time to start cooling down, then I take them off. I'm keeping my heart rate above 130 on days that are just plain 'I don't want to walk days' and 150's when I'm really wanting to push it. I'd go for higher, but those ankle weights really do make it a harder walk.

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Food wise seems like it's all over the place, but my calorie counts seem good to me and my points, WOE Nelly. Oh well. I'll post more on that tomorrow as it's weigh in day and i plan on listing my calories, points and workouts for the week. I like seeing what everyone else does, so i think I'll do the same... and i think I'll be more accountable to myself if I know I'm posting my weekly stats... kinda hard to hide then. :):) Which BTW, if this morning's scale reading is anything to go by, I've managed to lose weight... how i have NO IDEA!! You'll see. I think I can only chalk it up to the kiddo growing in my belly, because it defies ALL reason. :) LOL

Speaking of food. Last night i did make a VERY yummy non diet friendly dinner. 9WW points but it was under 500 calories, it's just bad if you have more than 1 portion. But OMG!! It was so good, how can you NOT have 2 portions... i just couldn't stop myself. It was THAT good. I can't wait to enjoy the leftovers. I'll have to figure out how to make it more health friendly, but it may just be a preggers staple for the next few months because lets face it... Italian food casserole style, is just to die for. Add the fact that i didn't use anything that was in the "prepared" style foods category. i think It's worth it. But i will be playing with it each time until i get it more WW and calorie friendly. Oh what fun!! :)

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Anyways, I've been busy working this week. Working on getting things done on my To-Do lists (i have too many), trying to get AHEAD of the game on my paperwork for work in the coming weeks, figuring out a new household budget (which makes me feel like I need a degree in economics or something) because we spend WAY too much money on SHIT!! That's the only word for it... I've been working on keeping my house clean, which I hate to clean, so that's been a task in its self, I've got a plethora of things I've been working on for 2 years now... that in the next 9 months I've got to figure out how to finish because with 2 kids around... it'll NEVER get done. Guess it's a good thing I'm feeling motivated, too bad that nesting period doesn't start earlier, I'd be banging this crap out and WOW! I'd be so set. hahahahhaa!!

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This weekend I have a baby shower for a good friend and then a lazy Sunday planned because Next week will be even busier. Between my daughters 1st dentist apt, a play date, my moms 30th work anniversary celebration, dinner with an old friend, work 4 days and a busy household schedule... Needless to say, I'll be exploiting Sunday & today's laziness factors for all they are worth. :)

Have a great day!!

Always,
Jules

Life does go on.

I've had a lot bottled up lately. Most of it has been pushed down by the grief I've been feeling. BUT life does go on, it has been going on for months now. So it's time to reach down deep and Move on. I'm sure over the next few months as the memories come forth of last year, tears will fall. BUT I will get thru it.

So, with that being said. A LOT has been going on. But today I'll just update you on my health track and weight, pregnancy... etc.... the rest will come later. :)

I did go to my PCP. I'm off the cholesterol meds. AND my blood pressure was better than it was in february. We'll do a blood work up AFTER the kiddo is born and re-evaluate at that time where to go at that point. I hope it'll be no more meds, but the truth is... Sooner or later I just might need them anyways. If heredity has anything to say about it. So I've come to terms with that. I can stay at my calorie intake and WW point level if I choose too. He said that with my extra padding (my words not his) it is perfectly feasible to have a healthy pregnancy AND not up my calories. He said in order to help "way lay" my chances of pre-eclampsia (I had it with my 1st) I need to stay on my healthy eating track AND walk every day for at least 30 minutes. No matter the pace, just walk. Other than that, he said to just stay on the road I was on prior to getting pregnant. So... here's what I've decided after talking to him. :)

1. Exercise: I'm VERY motivated to walk for at least 30 minutes a day. Last week i even went to my moms after a play date to walk instead of coming home and then walking... because I knew after driving all the way home... i wouldn't walk. it wasn't a full 30 minutes, but still... i walked. Since going to the Dr I've only missed walking 1 day. And there have been a few days I just didn't want to go. And I did. WHOHOO!! I've even been working all week at looking up strength training for pregnant woman. I want to be safe. That will start Saturday, my mom is also giving me her exercise ball... so I'll be using that too.

2. Calorie intake: I did up my WW points by 5 (couldn't find a WW guideline for pregnancy, just for nursing). I'm not going to necessarily SHOOT for this... I'll still be sure to get my daily 23 in. BUT if I by chance go over (which I've done a few times this week... damn pizza)... I've got the 5 to cover me and then my AP and FP. I just want to be safe and not end up starving myself because of weight gain, etc... Calorie wise, I'm not sure where this leaves me. I was not counting calories until the same time I found out about my preggers state. Since the 1st I've been in the range of 1300-1500 calories. I did have 1 day that was EEEKKKK 1800 calories. Holy moley. But it was only 1 day. The 1500 range was due to Pizza for dinner 1 night and left overs for lunch the next day. So... I'll be watching that. Anyhow... Really... I don't have any idea where my calories should be. I've never counted calories before. But I'm LOVING mydiet on facebook. So... I've been keeping track. I kinda figured if I can stay around 12-1500 on average (1200 being a losing weight range right?) then, I guess I'll be ok. It'll be something i'm going to ask the OB about later this month. I admit... I need some direction when it comes to calorie ranges.

3. I'm trying to ditch coffee... so far in a week I've gone from full caffeine to making my own version of 1/2 caf, to now @ a 1/4 caf. Although my Dr told me with the 1st he's ok with 1 8oz cup a day... I still want to try and kick it. We'll see How I am by the end of next week. hahahahaa!!

That's my general plan. So far I'm good. I'm proud of myself and I'm feeling like I'm in an awesome place. I feel elated 1/2 the time and on cloud nine. I don't remember feeling this happy with the last pregnancy. I don't know... something is different, that's all I know. And probably it's just me and who've I've been growing into. But still... it's a pretty awesome feeling. :)

2 last things... my insomnia seems to have cured itself with the pregnancy. I have been insomnia free since finding out. It's probably all mental, but i don't care. I have a REAL live, internal clock these days. I'm asleep by 11:30 and up by 7:30 without any clocks!!

I've changed my weight loss widget to just a weight journey widget because I still want to track... I'm scale obsessed... lets face it.... I'll still be tracking, might as well share with all of you. hahahaha!! But I am wondering if I'll end this pregnancy with having only gained baby weight like I did the first. We'll have no idea until those weeks after the birth when the swelling goes down. Then, a whole new phase of my journey will begin. For now, I'll just keep track and be happy with whatever happens. :)

this whole post seems discombobulated. hahahahaa!! Sorry. :)

Always,
Jules

Grief is never far away

Yesterday I was all set with a post to update you guys on things the Dr said, things that have been going on around here, and really, just a really great update. And as usual I got caught up on all my favorite blogs first (because lets face it I love hearin' what you all have to say). :)

And then i read Jenn's blog @ Priorfatgirl. And I couldn't stop crying when i read about the sudden and tragic loss of her mom. My heart started bleeding and I started crying for Jenn and her family. For their loss, for their pain and the sorrow that they will be going thru for months to come. If I was there with her, I'd be doing anything and everything i could to help them thru this. I know there are NO words I can say to her or her family. But just being there to sit beside them to help them thru this. But I can't. I live too damn far away... oh and yeah, there's that little thing of I really don't know Jenn. From everything I've read that her mom wrote and Jenn said of her, she was an amazing woman and even blog land is going to miss her, miss her dearly.

But i have to admit... Reading about the loss of her mom; ripped open a seam that has yet to heal in my own life. A seam of grief that since I found out about this pregnancy has slowly been loosening up. Almost immediately finding out about this pregnancy, I thought of my dad and how I can't share it with him. Which led me to my brothers wedding, he will be missing from that occasion too. And then as August quickly approached, I started to remember that August is when life in my family, started falling apart. The beginning of August is when Dad found out about the cancer. August 14th is when dad had his surgery. August is the last time he laid eyes on my daughter, he had a short few days where he was actually recovering very nicely... and then he went down hill again and had to go back to ICU. August is the last time I ever had a REAL conversation with my dad. August was the start of losing my dad.

So when i read about Jenn's loss of her mom, although the tears started for her and her family... the tears haven't stopped because that loosening seam ripped open like a geyser and has not stopped. Despite how excited I am about the next 9 months... the next few months are going to be the 2nd hardest of my life. Last year I spent 2 months having hope my dad would pull thru. Sadly, in my heart... i think i knew he wouldn't make it. But the longer he held on, the more hope I had. And Dad had been sick before... very sick... sick where we feared he wouldn't make it... and he DID!! He ALWAYS persevered! So really, my hope was based on the past. His past will to fight. Some times I still hope he'll walk thru that door and give me a hug. Like it was a cruel joke. I wouldn't care about the cruelty of it... I'd just be glad for my dads arms to be around me again. For him to just be here.

I try every day to be sure I talk to my daughter about my dad. She has pictures of him she looks at every day. My cousin made her a scrapbook of pictures of my dad, so she can always remember. We have him in our nightly prayers and I know he's up there looking down on her playing and laughing along with her. But yesterday and today... I'm just feeling the loss of him even more than I have in months.

He died Oct 17, 2008. 2 months after his surgery. And a year later it feels like yesterday. So the post I had in mind will have to wait. I have some grieving to do and some tears to get out. Memories to remember. Yesterday, I even realized I has forgotten he always called my daughter his little Cheeky girl.

Always,
Jules