I’m just stopping in for a quick post to introduce the new addition to our growing family:

Lucy Violetta Seals!  Born on Sunday April 7th by c-section (she was taking forever at a week and 1 day overdue so I decided to just do another cesarean) she weighed in at 8lbs 7oz (so cute and chubby!), and is 19 inches long.

There are no words for the joy and happiness that I feel in my life right now, and I am on a total baby high (or Percocet, not sure).  I am truly blessed for this sweet spirit that has been given to me to care for and love.

I have so much to blog about, but you can probably guess that I have my hands full right now!  I’m hoping to get back into the blogging world within the next month or two!  Rest assured that I am keeping up tabs on all my blogging buddies even if I don’t have time to do a lot of commenting.

Gotta go!  Hungry baby calls!

…..But you’ll have to come back on August 15th to find out what it is (I know, I hate when bloggers do that).

I know I’ve been MIA for the last week, but I have been having some life stuff happening that may affect the temporary direction of where my blog is going.  I know, so vague, and I hate to be so cryptic, but it really does have to wait until closer to the end of August.  For right now I have a lot of things to get in order and some stresses to deal with and I won’t be able to give the blog my love and attention like I would like.

I will update you that the hub’s is doing AH-MAZING with his commitment to a healthy lifestyle.  I know I never came back with a follow-up on his first week, but he lost 3 pounds.  That is even with him going out to eat 3 times that week (none of which were with me, they were all work related).  So far he’s lost 5 pounds and he has finally got it in his head that it will take him a while to lose the entire 25 pounds that he would like to lose.

See you all in a couple of weeks!

Sweat It Out:
50 minute walk that burned 600 calories according to Bodybugg

I am what you would call the “Lazy Type-A” personality (I may have just made that up.  ok, yes, I did just make that up).  I love tracking things.  Food, exercise, menstrual cycle, finances, basically anything that happens on a regular basis.

The only problem is that I like to track it when it is convenient for me.  Take finances and bills.  I have a spreadsheet and a binder all organized by bills and such, but I only update it every 3 months.  It turns into a day long process and then I vow to do better the next month and the cycle starts all over.  In three months time I will be looking at a stack of envelopes that need to be filed, and hopefully there is not a bill in there that I forgot to pay.

One thing that I have been diligent at tracking this year is my womanly cycle, and for good reason.  Once a month I feel like the world is falling apart, I can’t stop eating, and I feel like I am losing my mind.  The feeling goes away a week later when mother nature comes around, and I feel stupid for spending so much time in trying to figure out what was wrong with me for the past week.

It was no different when I started eating on Saturday and couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t stop.  I looked at my daily chart over on Ova Ova (a fabulous website that helps you to keep track of your daily temperature, menstrual cycle, and fertile days) and saw that it is about a week until mother nature, and it all clicked.

Side note:  I have started tracking on Ova Ova to have a better understanding of my cycle every month so that when we start trying for another baby in January it will (hopefully) help us to get pregnant quicker.  

Long post short: It has really helped me to NOT get frustrated at this time of the month by recognizing what is behind the eating.  Once you realize the reasoning you can start fix behaviors.

After 3 days of “period eating”, I told myself that I would get back on track today no matter what I had to do.  I already let nature take 3 days away from me, and decided today that it will not take the rest of my week away!

Last thing

When I went out for my daily walk with Hanna this morning I started listening to a book on tape by AJ Jacobs titled “Drop Dead Healthy”.  It has been so good so far, that I was a little disappointed to have to stop listening to it when I came home.  I may even have to do gym session #2 in the afternoon just so I can listen to it more!

Do you have a lazy type-A personality like me?

Do you ever listen to books on tape?

Sweat it Out:
50 minute hilly walk
Foam rolling and stretching

Foam rolling was SO necessary today.  Every time I go to sit down my legs SCREAM at me.  Who says you can’t get a good strength training session at home?

I got a lot of great feedback when I posted this picture on Facebook last nigh:

And yes, it tasted as delicious as it looked.  I tried something last night that I have never tried before: Roasting chickpeas.  This will definitely be something I will be doing again.

I used a recipe from Mama Pea, and the roasted chickpeas are a great base for any toppings you desire.  I used tomatoes, black olives, and avocado on top of the roasted chickpeas and bib lettuce.  They were kind of like taco’s, so yummy.

Dinner had to come together quickly because I had a Dr.’s appt yesterday to get my Thyroid checked.  I can’t remember the last time I had it tested and although I think it will be about the same it’s good to have it tested.

I also had an interesting talk with the Dr about how my thyroid effects weight loss.  He said that as long as I am taking my thyroid replacement hormone I should have no problems.  He also said that I shouldn’t rely on my pill to make me lose weight.  I made sure to clarify to him that I in no way expect there to be a “magic pill” that will shed all of my weight I need to lose, and I know the only way to lose it is with hard work, dedication, diet, and exercise.

He then told me that he could not tell me how happy it made him that I made that statement because a lot of his patients who need to lose weight never make that realization.  I love when I make my Dr. happy!

Getting the Support you need

Finally!  The sports bra’s that I ordered online have gotten sorted out, and I have the right sizes!  The number one thing I realize when getting a new SB is how bad the old one was.  It inspired me so much that I broke down and bought new regular bra’s as well.  I am like a new woman.

I have worked out the last couple of days with the new SB and I have nothing but good things to say about it.  For me, being plus sized, finding a bra is one of the hardest things about being overweight.  You can’t just go to your nearest Victoria’s Secret and pick a bra out of the bin box at their semi-annual sale.  I am also pretty chesty and have come to the conclusion that I will NEVER be able to wear the cute little spaghetti strap yoga bras that offer no support.  Even regular Nike sports bra’s create the super attractive “uniboob” that makes it fun to workout with.  The hub’s went running with me about a week ago and after seeing how unsupportive my bra was, he was very supportive about getting me a new one.

Ok, enough about my chest.  If you are plus-sized and want a good supportive bra I bought this one from the Lane Bryant website:

It was made for Lane Bryant by Reebok, and it has a great lift and separate feature, and feels more like a regular bra than a constrictive sports bra.

Welp, that’s all I got for you guys today!  Have a great Thursday!

What feature do you look for in a good sports bra?

Ever tried roasting chickpeas?

Happy Memorial Day!  I love this time in May and this is actually one of my favorite holidays.  It’s right around my birthday (and sometimes even ON my bday), and its a great time to BBQ and get together with friends and family.

Unfortunately, my hub’s has to work at least a half day so we have no fun-ness planned for today.  We are also away from my family, but I am sure they are decorating the headstones of my grand parents and remembering people who are no longer with us.  That is another reason I love this holiday, they are gone, but not forgotten!

When the hub’s gets home we are going to go to the big city and return my sports bra’s that I bought online from Lane Bryant.  A total bummer considering that I am in DESPERATE NEED of a new sports bra, and already had to wait a week for them to get to me!  Although, the active tank top I bought fits, and it is a size smaller than what I have been wearing so, yay!

I Killed This Weekend

This is the first time in a LONG time that I kept on my eating plan for the entire weekend.  This may not be a big deal to some, but for me it is HUGE!  Hopefully it will make a difference come Friday when I weigh in.  I weighed and measured everything I ate, and when we went out for lunch on Saturday I got a salad with no cheese and fat-free dressing.  I was eating to live, not living to eat.

I stuck to my running schedule, and I am proud to say that I did ALL of my runs outside!  The difference between the treadmill and the pavement is like night and day.  It feels freeing to have my lungs and legs pumping and I’m happy to report that my times have gotten better, and better all week.  They are by small numbers, but progression is the name of the game and I can’t wait to see my progress in the upcoming months.

Also, I’m switching my weigh in day to Friday.  My little monster has gotten quite vocal about me being on the computer while she is awake, so I’ve decided to cut back on posting a bit, and only post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Monday will include goals for the week and my workout plan, Wednesday will be What I Ate Wednesday (I love those posts and will never give them up), and Friday, which will be a weigh in and hopefully some inspiration to get me though the weekend.

This week is pretty much more of the same with my workouts.  Running on M,W,F,S, and then a 60 minute walk followed by a 20 minute strength training session on T, TH.

I’m hoping to see a bit of a difference on the scale this week.  I have decreased my workouts to under 1 hour, and have stuck to 1400 calories a day.  I’m trying really hard to not eat back any calories that I have burned, but in order to do this I’ve had to cut some of my workout so that I wasn’t constantly hungry.  Seems to be working so far!

Have a great Memorial Day everyone!

I actually had no intention of writing a post today, and was going to take a 3 day weekend, but then as I was preparing for my morning walk with Hanna a commercial came on that stopped me and had me totally focused on the tv:

(if you can’t view this video in your reader, click on my website and it will play there! Also, it is only 1:00 and has a great message so seriously, watch it now!)

Besides swimming lessons I tried all sorts of different hobbies (although one time I was swimming with my two very thin friends at a rec center and an older woman looked at me while we were in the sauna and told me she was the FAT one out of her friends too.  Some people, smh).  And like a lot pf those girls I quit a lot of things I found enjoyable because I felt inadequate, and uncomfortable in my own skin.

Being the mother of a little girl I hope I can find the magic answer to helping my daughter feel confidant and beautiful, but until then I will show her by my own actions.  Showing her that I’m not afraid to try something new, even if I suck at it.  Hold my head high with confidence.  I may not be perfect, but I sure do love myself, and that is something that I hope to pass onto Hanna.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mommies out there!  What a fabulously UN-relaxed day I have had so far since I got to speak in church today and was a ball of nerves!  I got through it though (although I cried almost the entire time, what can I say, I love my mom so much I get emotional, and being a mother is not something I can even put into words).

I know I am totally biased, but my mom is the best and I love her so much!  I’m glad that I was sent here to earth to be in her care.  She is a strong independent woman, and has helped me to be the person that I am today (which is pretty darn great, if I do say so myself).

I also have some pretty amazing sister-in-law, that definitely take the cake as well.  I am so blessed to be apart of such a wonderful family!

Me, Mommala, Jen, Angela, Millissa, and my neice Maddie

This picture is from a girls trip that we had in 2009 in Arizona.

Happy mothers day to all the mom’s out there, and to all the future mommies in the making!

No Internet at my house until Thursday, so I’m typing this on my iPhone! I miss blogging!
We got moved into our house successfully and now I am trying to get us settled in, and I thought I would give a quick update:
I have barely sat down in the last 4 days, and once I find where my scale is hiding I’ll weigh myself. I’ve been face planting into bed ever night with exhaustion, and it is quite the fulfilling feeling. Maybe I should move more often (totally kidding).
Anyway, back to regular posting by the end of the week!
I hope you are all having a fabulous week!

Just looking at that picture gets my saliva going.  This week has been extremely difficult for me.  Not only was Aunt Flo in town, but I have had an overwhelming craving for all things sweet ALL. WEEK. LONG.

It’s been kind of crazy with all the home buying going on.  On Wednesday we got to go sit in on the inspection of our soon-to-be home, and it all went really well. It was such a relief.  Emotions were pretty high that day.  We wanted to make sure that we had picked the right home and that everything would go ok because let’s face it, buying a home is a horrible and LONG process, and I shouldn’t have to mention STRESSFUL.

This last week I have totally eaten my emotions.  When I was stressed I ate.  When I was excited I ate.  When I was packing I ate.  And let me tell you that when you have been eating a plant-based diet for a while, regular food causes some major digestive issues.  I’ve been eating a lot more salt than I have been so I am bloated and I’ve even had some carbonation/caffeine.

My gym routine has been all over the place as well.  Without doing the NROLFW routine as a planned schedule I haven’t had my whole heart in my workouts, and I have just been going through the motions.  All I can think about is the things I’ve been eating and how I need to go to the gym so that my weight stays even.

Argh!

I knew at the beginning of this year that the whole Plant Based Diet thing would be hit and miss some days, I am not perfect (obviously).  The point is that I am working everyday to form healthy habits and I can’t let a bad week kill all of my progress.  I’m restarting today and having a positive attitude.  I’m using the stress of moving to actually keep me from eating by keeping me busy.  I’ve been making to-do lists every morning and the gym and eating healthy are at the top.

How do you get yourself back on track after a little fall off the wagon?

Happy Valentines day friends!  Let me start off by saying that I am not really super into Valentines day.  The hub’s and I use it as a reason to get each other $25 gifts that we probably would have bought anyway, and a reason to go out to an expensive dinner (which we won’t be doing this year since he is working tonight).

Although I’m not super into Valentines day, I am SUPER into my husband so here is a fun little love survey that I found over at Tina’s blog.  I thought it would make for a totally cheesy post, but whatever.

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?  10.5 years (shut that gaping mouth Dustin, it really has been THAT long).

2. How did you meet? (what’s your “love” story)  Dustin and his brother moved into a connecting townhouse to the one I lived in with 3 friends.  We shared our bedroom walls and he would bang on my wall when I played my music too loud.  My roommates and I use to stare out the windows at him and his brother and we all thought they were so cute.

One Sunday morning there was a knock on our door and a handsome man in a dress shirt and a tie was standing on my doorstep.  He asked if we knew where our church group met, and I asked him if he would like to tag along.  I immediately ran upstairs to tell my roommates that he was coming to church with us and I called that I got to sit by him through ALL of church (oh to be 21 again!).

He brought me cupcakes as a thank you that same night, and then for the next week I found cute little notes and candies left in my car when I went to go to work every morning.

3. If married, how long?  9.5 years.

4. Where did you get married?  Big or small wedding?  We got married in the backyard of a friends grandparents home in Provo UT.  It was very small.  There were a lot of changes going on in my family life and so a small wedding was what worked best at the time.

5. Do you have any nicknames that you call each other? We call each other “poopy” and “honey”.

6. Name three things that you love about your honey?  Just 3?  I am not the most cuddly person in the world, but my hub’s is really cuddly, and I know that he doesn’t believe me when I say it, but I love that about him.

He makes me laugh a lot, like a lot, a lot.  He has the best sense of humor.

He has the kindest heart, and he is always willing to help someone in need.

7. Tell us how he proposed. The first time we visited his family he took me on a four wheeling ride out to an amazing quiet cave spot.  Exactly one year later he took me to the same spot and proposed on bended knee.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy, or a champagne, strawberries, and rose petals?  He’s both!  He is also a get-whatever-Carrie-is-in-the-mood-for kind of guy.  I got a good one ladies!

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl or a pop in a movie and hang out on the couch? Pop in a movie and hang out on the couch for sure!

10. Tell us one thing you would like to do with your significant other one day? If you could do anything, or go anywhere?  Harry Potter land is the most realistic.  Europe is in the distant future.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing this Valentines day. We celebrated on Saturday because Dustin has to work tonight.  We had Mexican food and he bought me “Breaking Dawn” (which I have already watched 3 times.  ya, so what?).

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentines day? no.

13. What one piece of advice would you give about keeping a happy relationship? Compromise!!!!!  Give a little, get a little, and communicate.  Don’t hold things in and when you talk about issues, talk calmly and rationally.

14. Show us a picture of what love is to you. 

This picture oozes love to me.  The scared look of a new daddy who had just been through one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences with his wife.  We reached a new level of love that day and entered into a whole new world together.

Happy Valentines day Dustin!!!  I love you more than words could ever say!