1200 calories...

25 days ago I looked up how many calories I should be consuming in order to lose weight. You can find a calculator online that will tell you based on your age/height/weight. That's the day I put myself on a 1200 calorie meal plan. I don't call it a diet because I don't feel like I'm starving or having to live on salad. I'm literally counting EVERY calorie that goes into my body. When I started reading the side of the box of things I used to eat - OH MY WORD. I was consuming the amount of calories for a ginormous man. I've had people ask what I'm doing and what I'm eating so I thought I would write a post about it. I've found the My Fitness Pal app on my iphone to be incredibly helpful! I keep up with all of my exercise and calories on this app. You can search for any food and lots of restaurants to find out how many calories you're consuming.

Breakfast options:

Coffee

All Natural Granola - I put this on top of my yogurt in the mornings. My favorite with the least calories is Bear Naked Granola.

Stonyfield Vanilla Yogurt

1/2 Medium Banana

Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar). I eat the low sugar option and add 1 tsp of Brummel & Brown Yogurt Spread. I also make it with 1/2 cup of skim organic milk. Milk is high calorie so I try to be careful how much I drink.

Scrambled or fried egg w/piece of whole wheat toast or multi-grain english muffin.

Every Sunday I go through Starbucks and get a grande non-fat vanilla latte. My latte choice is 200 calories. This is the only day of the week that I don't have time for breakfast, so I drink my calories.

Lunch options:

Multigrain Tortilla w/turkey, mixed greens, tomato, laughing cow cheese, tiny bit of ranch dressing to add more flavor.

Strawberry Spinach Salad w/strawberries & fat free feta. I dip my fork in dressing so I don't really consume much but get a little of the flavor. :)

Tomato Basil Soup - I buy this pre-made at Fresh Market. You can have a cup of this for only 100 calories!

Grilled Chicken Breast on a salad or with veggies, baked potato.

Medium Baked Potato w/sour cream only.

Dinner Options:

Grilled Chicken Breast with salad or baked potato.

Grilled Fish with salad, veggies or baked potato.

Pulled pork without the bun.

I even have fried catfish. I just make sure I save a few of my calories during the day. Some restaurants have fried catfish that's only 100 calories per piece. I don't eat the hush puppies or fries and have salad and a baked potato.

Salad with lots veggies.

I've had ribs...chicken strips...tacos on corn tortillas. You can have anything you want - you just have to watch the quantity you're consuming and what's on it.

Snack options:

I love any of the 100 calorie snack packs. So many options!

Laughing Cow Cheese.

Pretzel Thins.

Skinny Cow desserts.

Marshmallows.

I measure everything I eat. If it says 1/2 cup - I get out my measuring cup! If I'm out to eat - I look up the restaurant and find out how many calories are in what I'm about to order or do it ahead of time. Seems like a pain but it's really not. I feel healthier and have more energy! I have always drank water w/lemon and unsweetened tea, so I don't really have to worry about drinking my calories. If you're going to drink sweet tea - it's best to make it at home. A large sweet tea at Mcalisters or Chick-fil-a is at least 220 calories! Some of you don't have to worry about the amount of calories you consume and I'll try not to hate you for that. ;) I on the other hand...well, in order to get the rest of this weight off, I do have to pay attention to what I'm eating. I walk with Amelia (when it's not raining) and that has helped too. I usually walk 20 minutes every day. I hope to build up to a run which burns even more calories but for now - walking it is! I also try not to eat past 7:00pm. If I get a craving for something sweet before bed - I eat a couple of marshmallows and go to bed! :)

This is day 25 on the 1200 calorie meal plan and I've lost 9.4 pounds!! I would love to lose 20 more pounds. I'm going to just wait and see how I feel as more comes off. I'm not really hung up on the number on the scale...I just want to feel good in my clothes again. I've already lost two sizes in some of my clothes which is exciting.

So for those that asked - this is what I'm doing!

Love to all,

What we're up to...

Amelia and I headed over to my sister's house yesterday. I wanted to help with things at the house and also wanted to run some errands for her. She's still building her strength and needs to rest. I'm just happy to be able to serve my sister and help her in any way. She has taken care of me after so many surgeries. Amelia watched TV with her Aunt Joy for quite some time...so sweet.



We headed to Walmart and picked up a few things that my sis needed. Pryce came along to help. Amelia loves her Pryce. She only says his name 1,000 times while he's around. :)



I feel like Amelia and I had the best day today! She is so much fun right now...we can sit and play together and then when I need to do housework - she'll sit in the living room or her bedroom and "read" her books or play with her toys. We went for a walk after lunch today. She just loves to be outside.



We have a dresser in the living room where we keep CDs. She loves to pull them out and put them back in. Today I noticed she was sitting with a CD between her legs, looking down at the CD, and had her hands on her cheeks with her mouth wide open. I didn't think much about it until she continued to do it.



I go over to look at the CD and this is what she's looking at! I could not stop laughing. She cracks me up.



I have put myself on 1200 calories a day because I want to lose the rest of this IVF weight. I'm so over it. It needs to go away. So I'm serious about this...I'm counting calories and it's working! I've lost almost 5 lbs since Saturday. I was so excited to find whole grain tortillas that only have 60 calories each. I made chicken tacos tonight and they were delicious. So here's to getting this weight off me!!



And this is random but does your child like to have their teeth brushed? It has become the biggest issue with my girl. I think I would pay someone to brush her teeth twice a day if I could. Tonight went ok but only because I acted a fool and danced around singing some made-up song about brushing her teeth. I may just count brushing her teeth twice a day as my exercise. For real.



I ordered this too-cute-for-words Baby Lulu outfit for Amelia...and it's too short for my tall girl. BUMMER. It's so stinkin' cute - I was upset that she can't wear it. So....if any of you are in need of an 18 month outfit - email me! I'm selling the set for $25 which will include shipping. It has a cute ruffle at the bottom of the pants that's in the polka dot material.



Okay, I'm going to say goodnight. I'm.so.tired.

Love to all,

Who is that in the mirror?

This was me before we started trying to conceive (almost 4 years ago).


As soon as we started fertility treatments, I could see a change in my body.


Little by little...the extra pounds on the scale started to appear.


After over 2 years of fertility treatments and a very hard pregnancy, I find myself overweight. I look in the mirror and think to myself, "who is that?" Only one other time in my life, have I ever found myself feeling this way about my body.


I do want to say that this little girl was worth every extra pound. :)


I also want to say that I know it has only been 4 months since having Amelia. I realize weight loss takes time...BUT I also know that I have to do something to lose the rest of this weight. My goal is lose 50 lbs.

Yes, I said 50 lbs.

I have started a product called Zija. It's an all-natural product. Made up of a plant called Moringa. Every heard of it? A friend of mine started taking it for her fibromyalgia. Not only can her husband wrap his arms around her again, without her being in pain, she has also lost 27 lbs (since Nov 09). I'm not only taking the Zija, but I'm also starting back with my pilates and boxing.


I have one of these in my garage and he's just waiting for me to come hit him in the face every day. LOL


Say a prayer for me...that I'll stick with it and that I'll see results! This is day 3 of being on the Zija and I've lost 4 pounds. I'm excited to get back in shape and to feel good in my clothes again. Oh to be in my normal size clothes again!! :)

I'll be doing updates on my weight loss (will try to do one every week). So hopefully, you'll see my double-chin disappear before your very eyes! HA!

Love to all,