Oh what did I get myself into?

I went out for a half hour today sans children and Hubs. They started along with me as far as Tot could walk comfortably. I was itching though to go at my own pace because we were going at a snails pace. I'm not much faster, but I at least wanted to try today just for kicks and giggles. I stuffed myself in my one running bra that I could find easily enough. And stuffed is definitely the operative word. I should get the custom done but I want to wait a month before I do it. I actually did a walk today and I managed to test myself with a little light jogging as far as I could for parts of it. I kept tugging at my shorts and I hated my shoes which provide very little support for even walking. I felt good though mentally afterwards. We went out today and I got a brand new pair of properly fitting running shoes (stability with cushioning!) and a running skort. I can't believe how excited I am over this. Hubs is going to start distracting the kids a couple times a week so I can get out. Excited.That's.Me! As for my one hour at a time, we've had a very celebratory weekend so I am up .4 pounds. But, that will go back down since we're done the celebrating now. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Week 1

I was doing great this week until Friday and Saturday hit. I completely pigged out those two days because of stress. Tot developed bronchitis (and has probably infected one of his teachers which I didn't know at the time but still feel really bad about) and as a result of running around on Friday my day did not go as planned. I was planning on the sitter coming and splurging only on a hot drink of some sort at the bookstore. That however did not happen. I had to go to two different places to get a nebulizer pump and the second place was already closed for the weekend. I called their 800 number and went through a hassle to get to talk to them and the prescription sent over and then for insurance to cover things. The company though was fantastic and kept me in the loop through the entire process.

They sent someone out late Friday night to deliver the pump to us and showed me how to use this one with the tubing provided and the tubing I received at the doctor's office. I had to make a mad rush to our Target Pharmacy because I was getting towards their closing time. I actually got home 2 minutes before the pump was dropped off to the house. So, Friday night was a huge bust. Then yesterday dealing with Tot who was not feeling well at all was crazy. I felt stir crazy. I really did. I still feel that way but on top of the stir crazy I am exhausted. And I think Daredevil is now coming down with something because she coughed a little bit last night. But, I not really sure if it's bronchitis for her yet. I'm so torn as to what to do. I know I'll probably wind up taking her to the doctor tomorrow. But, the wait is driving me batty.

So this week was a bust to me in terms of the diet. But, not a complete one. With all the binging the past two days I did manage to lose 2 pounds this week which is fantastic. And when I went to bed last night I actually felt sick to my stomach from being overfull. So, no more of that! I think I've learned my lesson. My milk supply is going strong. I even managed to pump 4 oz at the end of Friday night after a feeding. Daredevil is definitely getting milk but I'm doing my best to stay hydrated as well and remembering to take my vitamins. I have some plans for this week. I have some sewing that really needs to get done. My table is overflowing with projects actually. I really need some time to tend to them. I'm hoping to get some time over the next couple weeks to clean out those projects so I can start on some new ones.

Oh I enjoy the laziness

I'm finishing up the last of my crockpot oatmeal. I put everything together in tupperwares in the fridge and I've been able to grab it out and add in my oat milk and reheat. It's fabulous. Daredevil enjoys it because she gets to share the oatmeal with me. And she stands there and pulls on my shirt until I blow off the steam and feed it to her. I'm trying to decide if I want to put dates in next week or go for raisins. But, this really took now work. Put it in the crockpot and let it cook while I sleep. Get up and spoon up a bowl. Love it! I need more lazy meals like this. And the best part is that I'm sure there's no dairy or soy in this which makes it great for Daredevil since I'm really trying to make sure that she doesn't have those with her sensitivities. Now if I could get Tot to enjoy some we'd really be on a roll. Off to knit and watch Tot paint. Good night!

Day 3

Ok, so today was the big splurge. I finally met up with a friend whom I haven't seen in a couple years. We went to lunch and it was really nice. She got to meet Daredevil and saw how big Tot has grown. And I have to admit while I still am not a fan of dieting it's getting slightly easier. I saved all of my points for the day for lunch. By time I got to lunch I really was starving and feeling not so great so I won't do that too frequently but where we were going to lunch has so many options that it's hard to limit. So, I feel like I got to pig out today. I didn't have a soda which was a huge surprise to me. I'm also on Day 3 of no soda. Go me! So far, my saving grace is my "bedtime" snack before the kids get settled for bed. I'm having carrots and hummus and sometimes some fruit. I'm finding that little bit of flavor and fat is really helping me not cave after the kids are asleep and reach for Tot's little stockpile of candy he got for Valentine's Day. So, it's nice his Smarties are still all accounted for and he can have them as I ration them out to him. I still need to get better and really hit a solid 5 servings a day of fruits and veggies but for now I'm not doing so bad. Oh, and my energy level was better today than it's been in a while. I didn't feel the need to nap with Daredevil today with her evening nap which is the first time since she was born! Hooray! Alright, time to get the kids off to bed. Tot is still running a fever and a little rammy as a result. I'm thinking we need to have another dyeing project so he can get some messy creativity out. Good night!

A little bit on Day 2

I think I've found my new comfort food. Seriously, I'm in love. I was going to put some black eyed peas in it but didn't think ahead with the cooking so I left them out. I made some brown rice though. And as the main part I carmelized up half an onion in a little olive oil and I sliced up 3 small Portobello mushrooms into thick slices. I seasoned the mushroom and onions with some garlic powder, a little garlic salt, fresh cracked pepper and a little paprika. Put the mixture over the cooked rice and eat. Delicious! For the meat eaters this would probably go well with a steak? Ok, off to tend to a feverish Tot. He's not been feeling well the past couple days. Hoping he's feeling well enough for school tomorrow.

Day 1, Hours....all of them

It went ok. I was ready to eat my kitchen chairs by dinner time but I stuck to it. Dinner wasn't anything earth shattering. I decided that I had to have baked beans and pasta. I was so intent on the baked beans though that I completely forgot to put the garlic on my pasta. Gasp! Did you hear that? I know I sure did. I didn't dig into my weekly point allowance. We're having company today and tomorrow and I suspect that I'll be using those up in that time frame.

Dinner for anyone wondering was sweetened baked beans with real maple syrup. A single serving of pasta with some vegan "butter" which I'm getting used to. I can only imagine how I'm going to react to real butter once I'm done nursing. Maybe I should learn to do a cartwheel? I also sprinkled some nutritional yeast flakes on top of the pasta to act as my cheese. That stuff is pretty good for anyone wondering. And if you're dairy free or just looking for a boost nutritionally to your diet that stuff packs a punch for just a little bit.

Because I wasn't full from the pasta and beans I also ate two kiwis and a pear. By time I ate that I was at least comfortable. For the snack before Tot saying he wanted to go to bed during what would be Prime Time hours (if we had television service) I had some blackberries, carrots and some hummus. And I drank three liters of water yesterday. I've been really bad about drinking water lately so I've got to get better about that. Daredevil I think enjoyed all the water I was drinking yesterday because she had a very heavy diaper this morning. Anyway, off to start our regularly scheduled week. Onto hour 3.

One hour at a time

I love food! And I love it so much that coupled with my constant hunger as a lactating/breastfeeding mother, and bouts of depression throughout my adult life (where I'd eat often only meal a day because all I wanted to do was crawl under a rock) I'm overweight. And I need to do something about it. For me. For Hubs. And for Tot and Daredevil. But, really for me. I'm tired of avoiding mirrors. Although I've never really liked what I saw in them anyway and that comes from 30+ years of being told/eavesdropping (yep, I've done my fair share of that and I'll admit it. It's amazing what you hear when people think you aren't listening!) I was ugly/fat/not good enough/never amount to anything/blah blah blah. Fill in the blank. Needless to say my self worth some days are shot. And it shouldn't be.

So, I'm working to maybe change that a little bit. I want to get healthy again and shed a few of the pounds I've picked up in the past ten years. I signed up for Weight Watchers at home. I tried originally signing up for the online stuff but got screwed on that one because it's all online and I didn't realize that one. So, that was a whole lot of wasted money. I found the at home one and bought that but dang it I want my money back from the online program that I NEVER used. Who has more than a few minutes a day to sit at a computer and look all that crap up?! Not me. Daredevil throws a fit if I even look at my computer. And the reason she's not throwing one right now is because she is conveniently occupied cleaning the floor with one of the napkins I made for the kids. It has minkee on it. And if she's not trying to wipe up the dust bunnies she's chasing Tot. So, they're both occupied for five whole minutes. It's a win-win situation in my book. Anyway, back to topic. With my love of food I've decided that I need to take this diet thing one hour at a time. I can't commit to more than that. I just can't. It's not in me so don't even tell me that I can do it for longer than an hour. I'll roll my eyes at you and visualize me shoving a bunch of marbles in your mouth. So 1 hour. That's it! I've asked one of my friends whose also doing the online program to help me kinda stay on track. Some accountability and a buddy will be good.

This morning is the first day of it all. My goals for the week are no fast food and no soda. The no fast food is hard because I haven't felt like cooking with only the little electric burner. And the soda is really hard because I now have no means of even just a little bit of caffeine to get through the bad days. And I'm not drinking coffee black. And I only have herbal teas in the house which are lovely but they are no sugary soft drink. I'll have to switch over to the teas though for my non-water beverage of choice.

So, let's get to hour 1 which is breakfast.
I had oatmeal! I put some steel cut oats in the crock pot last night because I wanted to try that and see how it was. I didn't put enough water in because it burned a little on the top. I'm an idiot and wasted something really good. But, the oatmeal that didn't become a nasty hard crust was really nice looking. So, I'll be doing that more often I think. And I have enough leftover for at least two more breakfasts. Here's what my bowl looked like after it was doctored up....

I had Daredevil try a little bit before I added the nuts in and she kept coming back to taste it so that was pretty cool. One of my kids likes oatmeal. Yay! I actually like oatmeal and will have it for dinner on occasion.

Fruit and Nut Oatmeal (for a whopping 17 points for anyone counting)

1/2 cup cooked steel cut oatmeal

2 TBSP ground flaxseed meal

1/4 c. dried cherries

1 oz. walnuts

1/3 c. oat milk unsweetened (we're on the dairy free bandwagon again)

1 TBSP. sugar

This was honestly very good. I've already drank a liter of water though and am still hungry. But, this recipe for breakfast is definitely a keeper since it tasted good. And I like that the oat milk just kind of blended in with the flavor and that I was able to help keep the oatmeal from being dried out nastiness. I'm going to package up the rest of the oatmeal so it's ready to grab and heat. I'm leaving out the nuts though so that Daredevil can try it before I add them in. I'd like to keep her liking oatmeal. The sugar is a lot but again I just want food that tastes good. With that Daredevil is pulling on my shirt so it's time to go. Wish me luck!