Merry Christmas...

I lost another pound :)

I lost one pound this week and did pretty well with my goals.  For this next week, I am going to keep two of my old goals and add one new one.  So, my goals are:

1.  Drink 8 glasses of water a day

2.  Read my motivating weight loss book

3.  Exercise 3 times this week  

Focus on the good

When I have dieted in the past (like after Jenna was born), I noticed something.  I focus on my failures.  I felt like a failure every single day.  The only time I ever felt good was if I was PERFECT all day.  Doing that can really put a damper on being healthy and fit.  So, this blog is focused on three good things I did this week so far...

1.  I exercised twice!  I found a workout video for a dollar (it is cheesy, but pretty good) and Jenna and I worked out two different mornings.  

2.  I started reading a book that I know will motivate and educate me to be healthy and to live a self-controlled life.

3.   At Jenna's snack time, I only ate if I was hungry.  We share that time together, her eating some applesauce or a different healthy snack, and me drinking my coffee.  It's a nice time sitting together.

So, there you have it.  I will not focus on my failures this time.  That will cause me to give up before I even give myself a chance.  

I will be blogging again on Monday, with a weigh-in and new goals.  

Starting now

It's time.  I tried to start my diet when Elsie was only 3 weeks old, but that backfired on me and so I decided to wait until 6-weeks post-baby to begin.  And here we are.  It is time.  My plan is to weigh in and post new goals each Monday.  I also plan to post an additional time during the week with something that motivates, hopefully something the Lord is teaching me as I practice self-discipline.  I pray that the Lord really teaches me through this, and that this site can be helpful and motivating to anyone else on this journey.  

Here are my goals for week one...

1.  Drink 8 glasses of water per day

2.  Eat a healthy lunch that involves protein

3.  Track diet on Sparkpeople

4.  Exercise 3 times this week

It starts!

I joined a free website called "Sparkpeople" where you can track calories, water intake, weight loss, etc all for free. It is always good to see just how many calories I intake for certain foods that I love. Helps me to know what to give up being that it just isn't worth the amount of calories it costs. Sparkpeople suggests that I intake around 1300 calories, but I am going to add an additional 300-500 calories since I am breast feeding. So, off we go.

Weight loss starts soon!

And it all begins with birthing a baby in a week! That is an "easy" 8 pounds to loose :) So, this website will not be updated for a while, until I feel good enough (and get the okay from the doctor) to start dieting and exercising. Soon though, very soon.

Not as good

This last week was not quite so good. But tomorrow is Monday, and Monday is a great time to refocus and start fresh with good attainable goals. I liked the idea given by a friend to do some sort of sit-up or leg lift three times a week, so that is going to be my main goal this week. I also want to be eating well and drinking more water, but I will focus on leg lifts or arm exercises this week. I'm pretty sure sit-ups are out, since my stomach muscles have seperated and are no longer helpful for things such as getting up off the couch or out of bed, let alone sit-ups.

This Wednesday marks 36 weeks, and Friday is my next appointment! This is the home stretch!

Doing good all around...well, for the most part

Fall is a good season. Something about being back into schedule and Bible Studies and regular routine helps me to be more diligent all around. Housework is going well, eating and exercise are better, my spiritual life has been recharged.

I am still in nesting mode but slowing down a little bit. It has felt so good to have healthy joints. Ah, healthy joints. It is sometimes hard to remember the pain of the flares even though the last one was less than a month ago. I am sure I will quickly remember with my first good flare up after Elsie is born. I have heard that RA comes back like a storm after pregnancy. But I trust God with my health.

This last week I was able to exercise twice. It wasn't early in the morning, but it still felt great. I ate better, but not perfect. This pregnancy sugar craving is tough! (okay, maybe I can't blame it on pregnancy...I just love sweets). Water intake it getting better and better.

I have tons of goals for this week, but very few of them are about eating and exercise so I don't think I will list them right now. If anyone out there wants to share some of their personal eating/exercise goals, that would be great.

Have a good healthy week!

New Goals

My goals for this week are...
1. Wake up EARLY and go walking two times this week!
2. Place some verses around the house to remind me of God's power and strength. Battle sin with TRUTH!
3. Less sweets, more iron rich food.
4. MORE WATER!

32 weeks

Hooray, it was a good appointment today! I only gained one pound in the last 4 weeks. That makes up for the last two months :) My iron count was really low which could be a problem when I deliver but not a scary problem. Just a possible transfusion and a lack of energy. I will keep taking my pills and pray my numbers go up enough before I deliver. Other than that everything was great. Jenna sits so quietly for these appointments. I was proud of her. Since everything is going well, I don't have to go back to the doctor until 36 weeks (one month from today).

Pushing forward

I was just recently told by my friend that she wants to join me and journey back to fit, so I will continue this blog. And it is encouraging to know that someone else out there is traveling with me. It has been hard to be healthy this pregnancy. The last two months have been full of cravings, gaining too much weight (in my opinion, not my doctors), and failing at my goals. And I can't balance things by exercising since my joints don't allow. But I will move forward, and push on. Friday is my next doctor appointment where I will see if this month has been a better one, weight wise. I hope so.

As for a new goal for eating this week...
Less coffee, more water. (or "wather" as my Jenna says it)
One sweet a day.
More protein, less carbs.
More water. More water.

Eating better

Goals for the next week of pregnancy:

Healthy breakfast (granola or high fiber cereal with milk)

Fruit and yogurt smoothy for snack (recently read that yogurt and blueberries are very good to rhuematiod arthritis!)

Healthy lunch (need to buy some lunch options for me!)

Snack of applesauce, fruit, or veggie

Healthy dinner (as healthy as possible with our options!)

**One small dessert/treat per day at the most

Pregnancy so far

Two months prior to pregnancy: Stopped taking Enbrel. Continued with anti-inflamatory meds until about one month before trying to get pregnant. Joint pain returned within about 2-3 weeks of ending meds. Mostly an overall soreness, but also some concentrated joint pain.

Pregnant February 14th!! We got pregnant the first month we tried, the soonest possible date after being safely off medicine! Praise the Lord for His kindness and grace.

First Trimester: Really hard one. I was very sick, throwing up and unable to eat much of anything. Lost 5 pounds. Nautious all day every day, until about 14 weeks. Joint pain was worsening, some days so painful that I couldn't walk/move my wrist, etc. Doctor told me to take Tylenol PM to help with nausea and with sleeping through the night with a little less pain. I found that sleeping a ton (around 12 hours each night plus a daily nap) really helped ease joint pain. If I didn't get enough sleep, I would get a bad flare up.

Second Trimester: Sickness gone but joint pain increased. Doctor prescribed some pain meds for the unbarable days or nights. Still needed a ton of sleep but I wasn't as tired. Still taking Tylenol PM. Some of my worst flare ups were during this trimester. About once a week I would get a bad flare. Pain that would be so severe that it would make me nearly throw up.

Third Trimester: I am only a few weeks into my third trimester, but it has been the best by far! I hesitate to say it, but it almost seems like I have gone into remission! We will see how the rest of the trimester goes, but so far so good. I am sleeping comfortably, not needing as much sleep. I am still resting for two hours during the day, but not feeling the urgent need as much. My activity level has been much higher, which is really a blessing because I feel the need to prepare our home for this little one. I hope my third trimester continues to go this well.

Taking notes

I am starting this blog for several reasons. First, I want to log some memories of my pregnancy so that I can make the right decision when we want to have another baby. This pregnancy has been very hard at different points, but memory is short and I want to be able to make a good choice regarding growing our family. Second, I want to log weight loss goals, exercise goals, etc to motivate me the months after this little baby is born. One thing that has been very hard about this pregnancy is that I haven't been able to exercise AT ALL. A walk to the grocery store with Jenna in the stroller is too much for me most days. So, I will have a lot of work ahead and need some motivation. If anyone out there wants to join me in my weight loss journey, I would love that. If not, I am hoping that this blog will keep me motivated. I realize that I can't start loosing weight yet, since I am still pregnant. But I am going to begin watching more carefully what I eat, starting today :)