But it's not all bad.
I do, however, have to streamline my kitchen time. It's a sad fact of motherhood at this stage. But I know me, and I am happiest when my feet are in the kitchen, and my hands are in some dough or veggies or whatever.
And Thank goodness for the Ergo Baby carrier.
But here is the big news: I am now 15 lbs below pre-baby weight! That means I kicked myself out of the work out online group "Mom's focused on pre-baby weight" or whatever. Because I'm now more toned than before I squeezed out the kiddo.
This has made for some interesting changes and hesitation for my normal kitchen routines. I'm not exactly sure how to balance my long love of baked goods with my new habits.
In case you're wondering how I did it, I'll tell you!
Nuts!
I ran across this article at Penniless Parenting and something kind of clicked for me. So I have been tracking what I eat on the Daily Plate (a free service from www.livestrong.com. It's amazing how just tracking calories, and realizing a kind of calorie budget changes your perspective. I realized that dieting has always failed for me before because I have cut fats and made myself very hungry, and then I started to overeat in reaction to that. So I have been trying to eat more regularly and round things out with some almonds, peanut butter, or avocados whenever I'm just feeling hungry. Also, I'm still breastfeeding Ellie, which gives me about a 500 calorie cushion.
When the weather was nicer I found myself walking for about 60 minutes a day. I'd walk Dottie with Ellie in the ergo carrier for about 30 minutes before her morning nap. And then in the evening I'd walk for another leisurely 30 minutes (although I tried to walk as briskly as possible, it was still pure leisure).
I was seeing great success with this and feeling awesome. But I wanted a little something more, especially on bad weather days. So after hearing some other people rave about it, I ordered Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD. And then I really started getting results.
Anyway, I want to continue making the good nomz, but not sabotage my hard work. What do I do?
For now I'm trying to simplify my meals. It's easier to track calories on "chicken breast, brown rice, spinach" than "chicken a la king on homemade sourdough crescent rolls." No wonder people buy processed diet food, it's easier to know your calorie bottom line that way.
So here are some things I've been inspired by lately: Jamie Oliver, FlyLady.net, Jillian Michaels, and (gasp!) myself!
Oh, and I made sourdough banana muffins this morning. Ellie & I enjoyed them.
Posts
