Right Wing Mom

Oh baby - feeling good!

Friday and Saturday were hard. I was struggling with cravings, but not physical cravings, mental. For example; Saturday I didn’t get much sleep. A certain 6 month old was extra fussy and has now decided that sleeping “next” to Mommy is not enough - he want’s to sleep ON me. I was so groggy and grouchy Saturday morning which, on any other day, would warrant a trip to my crack dealer local Starbucks. I didn’t go, thankfully, but I will tell you I sat on my couch a good 30 minutes trying to justify the trip.  “I’ll just start Monday” “I’ll just have something and continue the diet”

Man, it was hard… but I pushed through and was greatly rewarded Sunday.

I woke up with a little energy! The cloud or “brain fog” had dissipated a bit. I made breakfast for the family. Got a bunch of stuff done and at the end of the day felt good about what was accomplished.

Still not 100% yet. I’m dealing with a little bit of detox headache - need to up my water to help deal with that, I think. Still have a little “brain fog” and a little short on my temper - but nowhere near where I was just Friday.

What have I been eating?

Lets see - I’ll run down my menu for yesterday:

Breakfast: 3 eggs and 2 small zucchini sauteed in coconut oil

Lunch: 2 turkey burger patties with a big ole glop of guacamole

Dinner: roasted chicken, mashed cauliflower and roasted green beans

I snacked on an apple and a handful of cherries.

I need a little more veggies in my day, usually I like to have a big salad for lunch, but I was in the middle of blanching and freezing 13lbs of cauliflower.

So… there you have it! I’m pushing through and loving the results so far. I will update again in a few days - weigh in is on Friday.

Look at me - back again!

Funny how the last post I made was about the Paleo diet and its been almost 2 months… man, that’s sad.

I had great success after my last post, but this past month life got in the way, in a major way, and sadly I got back into eating anything and everything and I am really feeling the effects.

So, I am starting the 30 day Paleo challenge again and this time I wanted to encourage anyone one who was looking to make a change to follow along and join me!

This “diet” to me is not just about losing weight, its about staying sane and being a good wife and mother.

When I am eating the “standard American diet” or SAD I am just miserable… and so are those around me. High servings of grains and carbs coupled with low fat and protein servings as recommended by the USDA make me zombie-like. Serious. I walk around with no motivation or drive. I am tired. I am cranky. I have no patience, and for a mother to 5 - that ain’t a good thing, you know?

This past week I have been so grouchy and depressed. I am so tired and have no energy to really do much of anything - life is a chore. That may sound so extreme to most people, but if you struggle with food/carb addictions like I do - I know you can relate.

So without further delay - I am starting TODAY!

I plan on posting often and telling you how its going, what I am eating and the changes I am experiencing. I hope you enjoy this as much as I am looking forward to it.

Here is a post I found that really goes into the 30 day challenge and thsi chick minces no words - she tells it like it is. Take a sec and read it. What do you think?

My favorite part:
“It’s not that effing hard. (Yes, I wanted to throw an f-bomb in there.) Don’t you dare tell me this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Drinking your coffee black is. Not. Hard. Substituting Sunday morning French toast in favor of a giant omelet and side of crispy bacon is not hard. Eating fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables every day is not hard. So I don’t want to hear one single complaint. You won’t get any coddling from me on this one, you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”, and you won’t get any second chances. Not in my house. It’s thirty days, and it’s for the most important cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. So shut up and do it.”

There you have it - “Shut Up and Do It”

Starting over. YET again. I hate that I am always starting over.

Sometimes the thought creeps into my head: “Why bother? It’s not like you are going to stick with it… you always quit”

I hate that voice.

The “voice” of defeat.

SHUT UP!

Cliche as it sounds… I’ll never know unless I try.

So….. here I am again. Not really trying anything new on the workout front, Jillian is still kicking my butt.

The nutrition front will be a RADICAL change.

The last month or so, my diet has been so bad. Just nutritionally void and icky.

I stumbled across the Paleo diet and it looked PERFECT for me.

I have some major , major issues with starches and sugar and I’ve realized in the last 2 months or so, that I also am having some issues with milk - major cravings

So… I did some digging and some research and Marc and I have decided to jump right on in.

The Paleo diet, also called the Caveman diet is supposed to take you back to the way our “caveman” ancestors ate. Well, let’s start off by changing the name…. considering I’m not really in the evolution group - Marc and I have decided to call it the “Post-Flood” diet

Here are the basics. First off the No’s - No bread, grains, sugar, dairy, legums and tubers

Thats a lot of no foods. Bread, rice, pasta, sugar, corn, potatoes, beans, peanuts, milk, yogurt and cheese.

Yikes.

But - plenty of protein, veggies, fruits and nuts!

Breaking it down… its eating as clean and natural as you can.

There are a few reasons for going to what some may consider, extreme.

First, of course…. is weight loss. I want to lose weight. Plain and simple.

Secondly and more importantly, is health. Following this diet will allow my body to detox and heal its self. Let’s face it… I’m 37 and as much as I want to say “I don’t fell 37″ the truth is… I kind of do. I’m tired. I’m achy. I’m bloated. I’m sore.

My body is just not working optimally. That is pretty darn pathetic.

Marc and I have committed to doing this for 3 months. We will be traveling in October and want to be at our best.

It will be interesting and challenging.

I will keep updating here and let you know how it’s going and what, if any changes I am experiencing.

Please feel free to ask any questions!

It was a little weird to have slept till almost 8am. We let the kids stay up later than usual the previous night and they and Marc will all still fast asleep. I woke with a sensation that I had to go to the bathroom pretty bad and it kind of hurt.

I got up and did a quick potty visit then grabbed the laptop and headed back to bed to lay down for a little bit more. I was slightly reclined on my back with the laptop on my belly when I got another deep pain low in my abdomen. The pain made me sit up and change positions. A sudden realization hit me…. WAS THAT A CONTRACTION? Hmmm? Maybe not. So, I lay back down again and waited to see what happened. A few minutes later it happened again! I grabbed my phone and brought up my contraction timer app (They have an App for that!) and started timing. I had two more contractions, about 6 minutes apart and about 45 seconds to 1 minute long, and got excited!

I got out of bed and walked around for a few minutes to see what would happen and much to my delight - I had another contraction! Woo-Hoo! This is it!

I walked over to Marc’s side of the bed and gently nudged him awake. “Honey, I think I’m in labor” “Really?” he replied with a drowsy smile? Then I realized I was leaking a little blood onto our new carpet (Oh No!) “Umm, yeah and I just bled on the floor. You’re going to have to clean that up, I’m going to the bathroom” (Sorry for being bossy Baby!)

I got out of the bathroom and made sure Marc was awake and aware of what was going on, it sometimes takes him a few minutes to wake up, but he was wide awake this time! We talked for a few and I told him what had been going on. I then called Cathy, our midwife. It was so great to be able to tell her “This is it!” I told her what was going on and she said she would gather her things and be right over. I then called my sister-in-law, Haley. Haley lives about 1 1/2 hrs away and really wanted to be here for the birth. She missed Emma’s by a few minutes and didn’t want the same thing to happen this time. Sadly… she didn’t answer the phone! OH NO! I then called my good friend, Romanda. Marc and I had invited her and her 3 daughters to be with us for the birth. She was super excited and promised to be right over.

Marc started filling up the birth pool while I was working on getting the bed prepped. Once the pool was filling, Marc came out to help with the bed. About this time Emma woke up. I went in to get her and took a minute to snuggle with her as my baby one last time. Marc gave Haley another call, thankfully she answered! He told her what was going on and to come on down! I then yelled up to Kaitie and Mandy to wake up and come down stairs.

All of this happened in just a few minutes… and then there was a lull. OK, Now what? I guess it was time to get to work having a baby.

Mandy walked in a few minutes later all sleepy eyed and said “Good Morning. Did you need me?” I simply pointed to my belly. Her eyes got super wide and she said “Really” “Yep!” She then asked what she could do to help and I just asked her and Kaitie to take care of Emma and make sure she had some juice and breakfast.

I then sat down in my glider and grabbed the laptop. I jumped on Facebook to let all my buddies who were anxiously waiting for some labor news know that I was “finally” in labor. While on the computer I had a good contraction that surprised me a bit. When I was in labor with Emma, I found solace in that glider. It was very soothing and helped me relax. Not so much this time. The contraction I had made me NOT want to be sitting there. I wanted to get up, but it was to painful to move just then. I worked though the contraction and realized I was progressing quite quickly and was probably a little further along than I originally thought.

Just then I realized Amanda, the apprentice midwife had arrived. She asked how I was and watched as I had another contraction. I went in to brush my teeth and Romanda and Cathy showed up right around the same time.

Its about this time that the order of things gets a little fuzzy for me. I remember Cathy checking me to make sure I was far enough along to get in the pool, as it can actually slow labor down if you aren’t dilated enough and we didn’t want that! I REALLY did not want to lay down to be checked. I just knew how bad it would hurt laying on my back having a contraction! Why is that the standard in hospitals? Get up women! Labor is so much more manageable when you aren’t in a prone position! (ok, off the soapbox now - sorry) As Cathy finished checking me, I was 5-6cm, I started having a big contraction. Thankfully Marc pulled me up and helped me get through it.

Tub Time!

Getting into the pool was great! The water felt perfect and it was nice and deep. I was able to relax a little and was joking around with Romanda, Cathy and Amanda. Marc was in and out of the bathroom, getting the kids situated in the living room. I heard Jake was awake and all the kids, mine and Romanda’s were playing.

Very soon though, labor got harder and I found it more more difficult to joke and relax in between contractions. Marc was supporting me by holding me up a little and rubbing my neck. He was gently whispering to me, cheering me on and giving me words of encouragement.

Amanda had gotten a large pitcher and was pouring water onto my lower back during contractions. It felt so good!

Around (I’m guessing) 10-10:15 I started getting the urge to push. Surprisingly it wasn’t as strong an urge as it had been with Kaitie and Mandy or Emma’s birth. Here is also where I ran into a little problem. Not really a big issue by any means, but it made my pushing stage a lot longer than it needed to be. What was the problem? I had to go to the bathroom. Yep… I needed to have a bowel movement.

I was telling myself that this was normal. A lot of woman have bowel movements during labor… Let it go Alicia, let it go. But I was having a hard time with that.

After a short bit, I wasn’t making much progress with the pushing, so Cathy urged me to move to the bed. I think I was kind of relieved for the change. I didn’t realize it till after I moved, but I think the water was starting to bug me a bit.

At first, I was on the bed on all fours leaning over onto some pillows.

This just lasted a few minutes as Cathy gave me the birthing ball to lean on… Oh, I loved that so much better!

Sadly, I didn’t improve on the pushing front. I was still having the same problem as before.

After a few minutes, Marc mentioned to Cathy that I had problems pushing with Kaitie and Mandy because I had a full bladder and needed a catheter to empty. Cathy agreed and told me that she wanted me to move towards the toilet.

Once I was there, I don’t know if it was the position or the subconscious knowledge that I was where I needed to be… but I started having a very productive contraction and started pushing very seriously!

Then the realization hit! I could feel him crowning and I said “Oh, No! Not on the toilet!” But then another contraction hit and Cathy instructed me to stand up. I told her I couldn’t. She assured me, kind of firmly, that indeed I could. I stood up, braced myself and pushed that baby right out! Not on the toilet. (Praise God for that!)

I sat down and Cathy handed him to me. It was awesome! He cried, but just a little bit. I immediately noticed he had a little birthmark on his head, right on his soft spot. I also immediately noticed that he looked just like the rest of my children… in other words, just like Marc. I was not surprised.

I apologized to Marc for not being able to catch the baby. He chuckled a bit and said that it was OK.

It was about this time that Haley showed up. She missed the birth by about 3 minutes. Sorry again Haley!

Kaitie, Mandy, Jake and Emma came in to see our new baby. It was so great to see their reactions as they saw Luke for the very first time.

Amanda gave me a shot of pitocin to help lesson my bleeding (us redheads tend to dislike clotting for some reason) and I moved to my bed.

All the kids shuffled in and gathered around the bed to look at us and start doting on Luke. It was so great to have all those girls in the same room. Little Emma at 2 years old seeing her first newborn baby to Cathy who has seen well over 500! Fantastic!

After a few minutes, when the umbilical cord had stopped pulsating Cathy clamped the cord and Marc cut it. Then I delivered the placenta. Cathy and Amanda gave a little class to the kids, describing the placentas parts and what it does. Then all the kids, except for Emma, put on gloves and poked and prodded away at the placenta. It was quiet funny to see how into they were - those freaky little homeschooled kids.

Luke latched on right away. It actually surprised me a bit! He had such a powerful latch! Of course, he hasn’t come up for breath yet - or at least it seems that way!

Cathy ran a wonderful herbal bath for Luke and I while Amanda cleaned up and started the laundry and Marc made me something to eat. The bath was marvelous! Chamomile and lavender and lots of other fragrant and healing herbs. It was a little weird having Luke in the bath with me so soon. I’m sure you have all heard the advice to not get the umbilical wet, but this herbal bath actually helps dry out the cord. I loved being in the bath with Luke and watching him, mostly submerged, just floating peacefully. Every time he moved I could imagine him back in the womb kicking and poking me. It was beautiful.

Marc brought me one of his famous omelets and an English muffin with blackberry jelly.

After the bath, Luke and I settled into bed. Romanda and her kids had left, and mine were playing nicely in the living room. Things were quieting down. Cathy and Amanda finished up with us, checking vitals and making sure we were doing great. They passed on some instructions, packed up and were on there way. Marc climbed into bed with us and we enjoyed a very peaceful, relaxing moment. Reflecting in the events of the past few hours we marveled on how fast and perfect it went and that we had our new son with us. We also couldn’t get over how relaxed we felt. The whole homebirth experience was so perfect and relaxing. There were no nurses and other hospital staff coming and going, no bright lights, no limitations or restrictions. I was in MY bed, with MY baby and MY husband. MY kids could come and go as they please. I could eat or drink what I wanted when I wanted. Seriously… It was as close to perfect as I could imagine.

Part 7? Wow, a part of me is a little surprised that I am still hanging in there. But, every week I feel like I am becoming more and more dedicated to seeing this through!

Sadly, I am still trying to get over being sick. I had a little relapse yesterday, but feel so much better today! My nose is starting to clear up which makes me very happy. Now all I have to do is get my lungs un-gunked and I’ll be back in business!

Needless to say with my attempting to hack up a lung (or at least sounding like it) 20 times a day, my gym time has been non existent. I am so very bummed about this. I really miss the gym. I want nothing more than to work up a really good sweat! Hopefully If I continue to improve tonight, I am going to give it a shot tomorrow. Nothing to strenuous yet, but just getting back to the gym and moving a bit would feel really nice!

Food? Still nothing wonderful. My calories have been semi-sporadic. Some days I know I am not getting any more than 900-1000 calories, which isn’t good. Other days I know I am closer to my calorie range. My choices haven’t been great either, I need to clean it up some.

Water? Oh goodness… don’t ask. I am trying to get my intake back up again. Its been rather pathetic.

I did get on the scale today and it was (drumroll…..) 202. Which gives me a loss this past week of 2.6 lbs! Woo-Hoo!

My total weight loss is now 13.8 lbs! Yeah! I have 56.2 more to go

Sorry this seems to have turned into a weight loss blog. I will try to get something non-weight related up soon!

Remember to check out 2 Moms 20 Pounds over at Happy to be at Home for some more weight loss encouragement!

What a roller coaster of a week! I was really hoping for a great vacation with my family and instead got a week filled with germs, snot, coughing, aches, fevers and sitting/laying around doing a whole bunch of nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved visiting with my parents and brothers - but I hated having to rely on them to take care of us. Thankfully they did though and we survived!

Jake, Emma and I seem to be still dealing with it the most right now. I am most bummed about the fact that the sickness has moved to my chest which means cardio has to be out on hold for me.

So - here is my overview of the week:

Food - could have done much better. The past few days I haven’t been eating very well. Not sure where my calories are going. Not eating enough, maybe.

Water - have really slacked off here too. Its had to drink lots of water when you are sick, even though that’s one of the best things for you

Exercise - Oh I tried… I really did. I am glad I took it easy though. My body needs to fix itself not overstress itself right now.

Weight - this one is a little funny! I was not looking forward today, weigh-in day. I was thinking about skipping it. But for the sake of total accountability I weighed in. I was chanting “Under 210, under 210, anything as long as its not over 210.” I was 204.6 which really freaks me out. This would be a loss of 3.4lbs for the week. I should be excited, but I’m not sure how accurate this is. I’m not sure if I want to claim this. But, not having anything else to count - I will use this number. I just hope I dont freak out next week if I go up.

I am hopefully going to get a little Wii Fit in today. I need to get moving a bit. I am SOOOO looking forward to getting back to the gym! I miss it!

11.2 down - 58.8 to go!

Check out Happy to be at Home for more 2 Moms 20 Pounds weigh-ins

Being on vacation and trying to stay with my program has been a little challenging. Preparing for the road trip I packed some food so we wouldnt have to hit the gas station and such for snacks. Of course, I obviously didnt put that much through into it. Snack? Lots of those! Meals - you know, actual food? Not so much. But, I survived.

My newest challenge has been working out while being sick and dealing with sick kids. Mandy got sick on Monday as we were finsihing up our drive. Kaite got it on Tuesday. Emma Wednesday morning and I followed up by Wednesday afternoon. Not sure what is going on with Jake. He hasnt been running a fever and he hasnt had the runny nose/congestion like the rest of us. But, he took a 5 hour nap yesterday (put himself to bed!) and has been uber grouchy!

Anyway, I got up yesterday to get my workout in and just coudlnt do it. I did about 20 minutes and then blah! Hit a wall and just couldnt push through it. This morning was kind of the same. I got up determined to workout. Jake woke up around the same time and a feeling of dread washed over me. I hoped that I could get through my workout… but no such luck. I was really having to push myself as it was. Now add in a grouchy 5 year old coming in every 30 seconds and yelling at me that he was hungry or cold or tired or bored or whatever!

Sigh

I now know why I get up at 5:30 in the morning to go to the gym. Totally worth it.

Oh - I wanted to clarify a little something. I totally messed up my weight loss from last week! I posted that I was down a pound, not sure where that came from. But I was actaully down 2 lbs! Big duh on my part.

Time to scoot! We have a big day today - as long as everyone is still breathing this morning

My Dad and I are taking the kids up to the mountains for a bit. My poor little Jake has never seen snow and wants more than anything to through a snowball. I am hoping to get some great pictures! Then we are heading off to Knoxville this afternoon. My Mom wants to spend some money on the kids and I am taking my parents out for a little early Anniversary present. Lucnh at PF Changs. They have never eaten there and we love it! They are celebrating their 40th Anniversary on February 15!

Well, I was doing a little better getting posts up last week that did not involve my weigh loss and excercise. But, life got in the way as it so often does.

Sunday the kids and I took off on a 900 mile journey to Tennessee. My paretns moved here about 2 years ago from Ohio. I kind of miss to being able to go back to where I grew up. But, looking at how much snow I am missing… I can live with Tennessee!

I am not able to weigh myself this week, but I jumped on the scale Sunday morning before leaving. I had lost another pound!! I was very excited!!! Woo-Hoo!

Driving up I was pretty good. Lots and lots of water. Stayed on plan Sunday and mostly Monday. I had a PB and J in the car. But, although I did not count my calories that day, I know, given what I ate the rest of the day, I wasnt that far off.

Exercise has been great! I have been getting my workouts in no problem. As a matter of fact, knowing that I was not going to be able to workout on Monday. I got up early Sunday and dragged my booty to the gym and got in a great workout before leaving on our road trip!

While here I have been working out in the garage. I brought an exercise band with me and have been usuing that for my strength training.

Today was cardio and I had brought a DVD to do. But, of course, I couldnt get the DVD player to work. I had a slight panic. But, instead of quitting or cheesing out, I ploppled my iPod on and went out into the garage. I did a little old school aerobics, step, dancing and calisthenics. I felt a little foolish at times. But, I go the heart pumping! I kept my heart rate up and burned alomst 400 calories in 30 min. I wished I did more time, but I got a late start and had to get the troops fed.

I am excited that I am doing well and sticking to it!

Of course, Kaitie and Mandy have been sicker than dogs! Fever, sore throats, caughing, runny nose. And guess what I feel sneaking up? I hate being sick. I am going to go slam some C and eat some homemade chicken soup. Sometimes its nice to be at “Mom’s house” even if you have never lived there before.

Check out 2 Moms 20 Lbs for some more weight loss motivation they can be found at Happy to be at Home

I swear I will get back to “regular” blogging soon… totally promise!

I was able to get my external hard drive this week and have gotten a couple of photo files transferred over. However, I am having some major anxiety over deleting these files from my main hard drive. What happens if the external drive crashes? AACK! Crud, I hate being anal sometimes.

Ok - on to the weight loss.This past week was a rollercoaster. I guess I will get right to the “low point” and go on from there.

Sunday afternoon we finally had a little birthday thing for Emma. (48 days late… but who’s counting, right?) We had a couple of friends over (HI Nancy!) and enjoyed some pizza and carrot cake. My plan was to chow on some salad, skipping the pizza altogether and “indulging” in one cupcake. ONE.The salad went fine, and so did the whole cupcake thing. But then, our friends left and I was left with leftover pizza and carrot cake. Did I mention I make a mean carrot cake and that it happens to be like, my favorite thing? I do… and it is.

I started adding up my calories and talked my way into being able to partake in “just one more” cupcake. Of course that one more piece turned into one more, plus extra frosting and half of Emma’s cake that was leftover… and 4 pieces of pizza.

I felt like a fat beached whale. I was sick to my stomach and felt a hint of failure. Praise God it was only fleeting. I had felt these “issues” of mine that I struggle with creeping up over the past week and had been praying about it. I felt like Sunday evening, God just scooped me up, gave me a whack on the rear and said “Get back in the game girl!” And so I did.I realized that if I wanted to make my weight loss goal for the week, I was going to need to step it up for my workout Monday and Tuesday. I knew it would stink - but that was what needed to be done. My goal was to burn 1000 calories on both days. I got to about 875 Monday. Tuesday my watch battery died! But, I worked about the same as I did on Monday.

The result?

Down 3lbs this morning! WOO-HOO!

Still not happy about bingeing. But I took responsibility for it and got the work done.5 down - 65 more to go

Check out Happy To Be At Home for more Weigh-In Wednesday!

I am now going to update on Wednesdays because I am joining in with the Ladies over at Happy to be at Home. They have started a “Weigh-In Wednesday” to go with their series of 2 Moms - 20lbs. So weather you looking to lose 20lbs like Kate and Joy or 70 like me you should take a look - its a great site!

Ok I am sure your big question is how is it going? In a word - Fan-Flippin-Tastic! Seriously!

I have weighed in a have lost a grand total of 2lbs! I am am excited about those 2lbs. I worked hard to get rid of them!

Its a little funny, I got on the scale and was really preparing myself for a 5lb loss, I figured it would be close. I will admit that my heart sank when I saw it was “only” 2. But then I realized… I LOST 2 LBS! Hello? Thats awesome! My goal is to lose 1.5lbs a week… I DID IT! Once I realized that I got super excited and happy!

The week went excellent with eating. Although, Saturday and Sunday were a little challenging. Kaitie and Mandy had a their last meet of the season and we spent the entire weekend their, either working, cheering or competing (well, they competed I did some more cheering!) I had to do some planning and packing of food, but I did ok. Went a little long between a few meals, but I stuck to it!

Workouts have been great too. The soreness is getting more manageable. Now its just enough to let me know that I worked hard enough. I missed my cardio session on Saturday, but got up extra early Sunday to get it in!

I have also been experimenting with some different food choices. If you know me, I’ll eat just about anything, but there are a few things I have never prepared at home that I whipped up last week. I cooked up both salmon and mussels - and they were YUMMY! Believe it or not I cooked both of the meals in the microwave with the Ziplock steamer bags. So quick and awesome.

Like I said yesterday - I have so much to blog about. I have not been doing it because there are a lot of pictures I want to show off with those posts and my hard drive is now home to over 9000 pictures. Yes I know I have a problem. I will be getting an external hard drive (if all goes well) this week(end) and will try to get things organized a bit Then I will inundate you with post after post with all kinds of pictures and you will all be sick of me. I know, you can’t wait!