Saturday, August 10, 2013

Fitness and Dieting

I've been continuing to work out, in fact I'm starting to get to where I can walk faster and farther and still feel good afterwards. I also have been seriously cutting back the calories I eat, and the combination is working! Dieting makes me tired and cranky, but it's so worth it when I step on the scale and see that number going down. I bought a belt so my shorts and pants will stay up. A couple of days ago I stepped on the scale at the Y and I was down to 205! My weight tends to fluctuate a lot but as long as it keeps trending down and I keep losing inches I'm happy! I hope it's that low or even lower at my next doctor's appointment. 

I really want to add more strength training to my cardio but I'm not sure how to go about doing the with the machines at the Y without hurting my back. I found a workout that's designed to help strengthen my core without being tough on my back that I can do at home so I'm adding that to my exercise routine. Once I get that down I'm going to try out the weight machines. I know it's all about being healthier, but I really can't wait to fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans again. I was at about 190 when I got pregnant with Alicia, and 175 when I got pregnant with Jaydra, so those will be milestones for me, but I don't want to stop there. I'd like to be really in shape and do a triathlon, and fit into 9/10 jeans. Right now I'm wearing size 20's, and while they're loose on me I have a long way to go. That's why I have lots of short term goals. I need little celebrations along the way to keep me going.

Potty Training Progress

Jaydra is ready to graduate to big girl panties! We've been doing a gradual switch from diapers to pullups to panties instead of the crash course jump straight to panties that some parents do. I thought about doing the crash course 3 day potty training plan, but this is working for us. She's telling me when she needs to go, and is able to use the big toilet with her seat on it all by herself. It's such a relief to be able to just take her to the bathroom and let her do her thing! When she's done she's so excited to ask me to look at her pee or poo, and I try not to laugh to much. It is so hard not to crack up when she says, "Do you want to see my pee pee mommy?" She really resisted pulling up her own pants and pullups, and I had to refuse to help her until she at least tried to do it herself. She used the potty at the Y kidzone (something she'd been resisting so yay) and the lady working there said she walked out of the bathroom with her pants down. She's still got some learning to do but she's getting there.

Alicia is a little over a year younger than Jaydra and is going through a phase where she's really resisting using the potty to the point that she won't even tell me that she's wet herself. I'm continuing to encourage her, and I'm not freaking out about this like I did when Jaydra went through the same thing. I also have a trick up my sleeve: I'm getting Elmo's Potty Time from Netflix. The nice thing about going through things like this with her is that I don't stress about it as much because I know we'll get through it and have more experience so I know what to do. Truth be told, not everything works the same way it did with Jaydra because their personalities are so different but at least I have a clue about what to try this time.

Combating Laziness

Well, it's been a while since I've written so I've got a lot to talk about, so I'll probably do a few different posts. The girls are doing pretty well, but I haven't been doing as many activities with them as I would like. Blame the heat of the summer, blame lack of funds in our budget, blame whatever I like but the main culprit lies within me: laziness. I have a ton of reasonable excuses, the neighbors pit bull is never in their yard and always in our front yard, the girls need their nap time, when we go out it disrupts the potty schedule. The reality is that I don't seem to have any motivation to do anything but  take care of the girls, exercise and do the cleaning and cooking. I'm even falling behind on the laundry all the time. I'd like to do more with the girls and just more in general but lately everything seems so hard. How to find more inspiration and motivation? I just want to get away on a vacation, or even have one day that someone else is responsible for the girls and I can just recharge. Keep dreaming Jessie!