New Leaf

As many of you know, I have taken losing weight after pregnancy seriously considering I allowed my self to gain..are you ready...50 pounds. I went to the OB the other day for my check-up and thankfully everything but my weight is in check. I had not allowed the nurses to tell me what my weight was the last two months, so I had no idea. When she said the weight aloud, I almost died. She said to me, "You've already lost 22 pounds!" This meant nothing to me. All I knew was that I was still 27 pounds heavier than my start weight. 27 pounds. Wow. So, the detox was just the start. 27 pounds calls for a complete lifestyle change not just cutting down what you eat. The other sad thing is when I got pregnant, I was religiously going to the gym at 5:30 a.m., and had eliminated all carbs. I lost about eight pounds, but this was after weighing in at my highest ever. So, I was about 10 pounds heavier than I would have liked even when I got pregs. So, I really have 37 pounds to lose. However, for the sake of keeping me sane in any way, I'm going to just use 27 pounds as a goal. I mean, how crazy can it get?

I have been adhering pretty religiously to the CLEAN diet's approved list of foods, but I just can't go raw or take a bunch of pills every day, so I've added modifications to help with that. I also happened to read an article by Dr. Oz in Good Housekeeping this month about keeping a Mediterranean diet which many people have praised over the years. It had a lot of similar tips and foods as CLEAN without the major restrictions, so I've added some of those foods in. CLEAN wants you to avoid all refined sugars, glutens, alcohol, simple carbs, and dairy. This is hard. The Oz plan includes lots of whole wheat options, and alternatives to traditional sweets.

So, I am going to try to blog what I eat every day to keep me on track. This place is going to be my chubby checker. I have often tried to keep a food log, and two days I will forget and that is the end of it forever. I'm sure I will do the same here, but maybe knowing I have a public audience reading what I put into my body will help me both stay on track and log. Aren't you excited? I will also try to post something fun with my meal logs so you can keep entertained. You know, it's all about you.

I will also attempt to find a scale to weigh myself every week to see if I have lost anything. My target loss date is June 21st. This is the day we leave for Italy for our dear friends Rob and Valentina's wedding. They have graciously asked us to stand up for them at their wedding, and I can't be up on the alter of a beautiful Italian castle with a big ass belly and thunder thighs. What would the Italians think of me? If there is a designer dress in my future, I better not be trying to fit my heifer shape into it.

Next on the agenda, water. I like it very much, but I have a hard time fitting it in. Some days, I go without drinking anything at all. That ain't good. More water, more water, more water.

The last thing I have to do is buy a few pairs of jeans in my fat size. I simply cannot continue to wear maternity jeans. I hate them, and I literally wear the same thing every day. I've actually become one of those women who you see on Regis or Rachael Ray that they made over for wearing yoga pants and pulling her hair back in a ponytail every day.

Enough already Jen. Now, I will post my meals from yesterday.

Breakfast: One slice of thousand grain bread with 1T of organic/all natural peanut butter (which is super gross by the way. I bought almond butter last night and had it today with a bit of honey and it is so much better)
1C of decaf coffee (this is one thing I cannot give up) with one packet of Stevia, and Silk Soy milk creamer

Lunch: Filed green salad of butter lettuce, slivered almonds, 2T of goat cheese (which I picked off half), and 1T of olive oil
Not sure measurement of soup I had, but it was a delish Vegan artichoke, brussel sprout, and portobello mushroom number
16 oz. water

Dinner: Home made salad of romaine with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, string beans, grape tomatoes--all raw.
One hard boiled egg.
One San Pellegrino water