Lift. Run. Bend.

I’m nearing the end of the lifting restriction and am headed to my surgeon for a follow up appointment tomorrow to find out when I get back on the grind. I’m trying to majorly increase my water intake and am coming up short still. In retrospect, that could be one reason I’m not really losing weight. I got a Bubba Mug from Target that holds 72 oz and I got through that but not much else. I just straight up forget to drink it. 

Anyway, I am thinking about doing some meal prep tomorrow. If you haven’t already, I seriously recommend you check out Kevin over at FitMenCook.com and check out some of his amazing meal prep recipes. I think I’m gonna make the Stuffed Sweet Potatoes but put the chicken IN the sweet potato. Just because I like to live crazy. 

I’ve been thinking about some of my fitness goals and sort of rearranging them. Initially I said that I would wait and lose a few pounds before starting to run consistently. The more I thought about it, and the more I thought about WHY I wanted to lose the weight, the less that decision made sense to me. I want to lose weight so I can do the physical activities I enjoy without feeling winded so easily. The way to build up endurance is by pushing your current endurance. So, avoiding running is not in my best interest- in regards to the philosophical, anyway. I know that running at my weight is more dangerous than running at a lower weight but if running will help me lose weight- it’s sort of a wash. That’s how I’m seeing it, anyway. So, I think I’m going to start running. 

In addition to running and lifting (love lifting!) I will start practicing Hatha Yoga. I’ve made some spiritual decisions for my life and yoga fits right in with them. I’ve been learning about my energy body and my chakras and crystals, etc. It’s a big learning curve but I know that this feels better to me than pretending to be aligned with a faith that I don’t share. 

Hopefully, I get good news from my appointment tomorrow because I’m ready to jump back in. 

Plateau?

All right, so, I’ve hit the gym hard every day this week. Stayed 1500-1600 calories every day and got as much sleep as possible for a nursing mom. Then, I gained weight. What?! 

What?!

Also, my supply seems to be dipping- or my daughter is all of a sudden insatiably hungry even after nursing. 

A few things could be at play here (considering the two things above):

Possibility #1: I’m not getting enough water. 

Possibility #2: I’m not getting enough calories. 

Possibility #3: My body hates me? (Not likely, but still)

 

My base metabolic rate is 1600ish. That’s not accounting for nursing. That burns around 500 calories per day. So, that would be around 2100. I burn about 400-500 calories per day in being active (lifting/cardio). Is 1600 enough? 

Also, I need to get a gallon container to make sure I’m getting enough water daily. I just straight up forget to drink. I’ll look up some tricks to remember to drink water.

Anyway, killed arms yesterday. Killed legs the day before. I’m considering doing abs today but I’m also thinking I just want to do some cardio. Maybe both? I’m not sure right now. I’m just frustrated with these 2 lbs I gained back. I have definitely working my ass off and to see this happens, makes me pretty upset. 

 

Let’s see how things progress.

❤ Nannette

Two-a-days.

OMG.

Guys, OMG.

I worked out two separate times yesterday and ended up hitting 1,500 calories (I tend to under-eat)**.

And today? I feel like a freakin’ zombie. I’ll probably just do some cardio today. Tomorrow is rest day. Can I get an amen? I will weigh in tomorrow. Last week I was at 198. I was stuck at 200 for weeks because I was eating WAY below my basic metabolic rate. I was lucky to get 1000-1200 calories in. Once I started tracking, I saw how little I was eating. Lesson: TRACK your FOOD! It will remind you to eat if you have that problem or make you rethink a potentially bad food choice.

I took some progress pictures today. I’m gonna post them in a bit. Not that brave yet, haha. BUT, I’ve definitely made some visual progress! I swear, haha.

Okay, I’m seriously gonna get a nap in once I put my kids down for their naps.

 

❤ Nannette

**I under-eat because I forget to eat with chasing my toddler and nursing my infant. I just forget. No eating disorder here- not anymore, anyway.

Ability is limitless.

So, I went for a walk a few nights ago. I had only worked out for about 15 minutes earlier that day and wanted to make sure to stick to my 45 minute per day goal. I walked for about 30 minutes as the sun was setting and did a few high intensity interval exercises (karaoke walk, step ups, high knees, etc.) to keep my heart rate up. I live right beside a mountain preserve and have lots of hills around me, so I put those to use as well. I had a good time but then I realized the sun was set.

And then, I heard cicadas.

If you have never heard/encountered cicadas, I honestly don’t have the words to explain the sheer terror their sound incites. So, I looked up a clip on youtube to help you. Anyway, I got scared. Legitimately. So, I started running toward my house. I was still about a quarter of a mile from home but originally just wanted to run until I was out of the trees (where cicadas chill). But I kept running. I kept setting small goals for myself- just until the next light post- but when I reached the light post, I took a deep breath in and knew I had more in me. I did that ALL the way home! It did take me 10 minutes to run a quarter mile. But I ran and DID NOT STOP. I honestly think I could have kept going but I didn’t want to pass my house and it was really dark by then. 

I was so freakin’ empowered by that run. For a few reasons:

1. I saw how far my body could really go.

2. I learned that exercising is really mind over matter.

3. After that moment, I know that I will never be able to say that I can’t run. Because I did. And it felt awesome. 

 

If I had to compare the feeling to anything, it would be giving birth. Obviously, birthing my babies vaginally was much more tough than running for ten minutes, but there are loads of similarities. My daughter was ALMOST born via c-section. My doctors had convinced me that she was too big and would get stuck in my birth canal. Literally the morning of my planned surgery, I changed my mind. My husband just felt that I really was capable of birthing her naturally. I wasn’t sure but I thought it was worth a try and agreed to be induced and see how things went from there. Things progressed normally. She did not get stuck and she was 2 lbs lighter than they estimated for her. And let me be straight with you- I felt like a bad ass bitch. My body did that! Just like my body did that run. Just like it does all these things I didn’t know I was capable of. 

And I know that someday in my future, I’ll run a 5K, a half, and a full marathon. I will be my personal bests in the gym. It’s always been me vs. me. And this me is about to kick some ass. 

 

❤ Nannette

Welcome back, Me!!

Oh, my! I forgot I had this blog lying around and I’m glad someone reminded me of it! Lots has happened since my last post last year. I got pregnant (again) and birthed my daughter (Luna!) on 2/11 this year. I had some pretty serious postpartum complications (postpartum preeclampsia) and my daughter was admitted as an infant into the NICU for some still undetermined health issues. 

Everyone is much better and my whole family is rockin’. Rex (my son) is now 18 months old and Luna is almost 5 months old. I jumped back on the fitness bandwagon about 6 weeks ago and in that time have reached ONEDERLAND! I’m 198 lbs as of 7/5 and I’m over the moon! Since coming home from the hospital, I have lost 22 lbs. No small feat and I’m just getting started.

My goal weight is a little more flexible than I initially thought. I want to be somewhere 115-125 which is perfect for my very short stature. I’m just shy of 5’1. I’ve got a ways to go but I have never been more motivated than I am now. I’m in a group of lovely ladies that gave birth around the same time and are also trying to gain health. I’ve got some awesome support at home and have much less fight about the foods we have in the house. My husband is even enjoying the cauliflower rice I make! 

Another thing to celebrate is that my youngest sister, who lives with us, is really taking major strides in removing crap from her diet. She works in a fast food restaurant and has been pretty much raised on hot pockets and pizza (and pizza hot pockets) so the struggle is tough for her. But she’s killing it and it’s so encouraging! Sometimes she even works out with me 😀

So, I’m blogging again for a few reasons. I don’t ever want to forget my journey. I want to remember all the sweat and pain it took to climb out of the hole I’m in. I want to be able to look back through this journey whenever I’m feeling down or discouraged.

Second, I hope that if you’re overweight or obese or morbidly obese (that’s me for now), and you find my blog that you’re encouraged. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. YOU ARE WORTHY OF A BEAUTIFUL BODY. YOU DESERVE TO HAVE FUN- at the beach, in a park, outside. Life is for the living and how much living you can do outside. And for the moms out there who think it’s impossible to workout. I have two under two. IT IS POSSIBLE. Everyone in the world has 24 hours a day. You have to wake up EACH DAY and choose health for you. That might mean skipping one episode of Pretty Little Liars (omg, that show is addictive!) or working out by lifting your toddler in the air like a barbell. IT IS POSSIBLE. Just make your health a priority and set yourself up for success. There’s nothing to it but to do it. 

Finally- I want to keep myself accountable. Every day except Saturday- 45 minutes being active. That may be brisk walking, running, lifting, calisthenics, whatever. 45 minutes combined. Mostly because I have 2 under two and 45 non-stop minutes to myself happens approximately never. Or sometimes at like 2 in the morning. You get my point. Also, 1600 calories. My base metabolic rate is 1600. I’m tweaking my calories because I was eating too little and not losing any weight. My body was in a perpetual starvation mode. More on that later. So, I’m seeing if 1600 is enough to shed weight. I might need to raise it up but I’m trying this for a few weeks. 

All right! So, hello! 

If you’re not currently working on your fitness, START TODAY. DO SOMETHING. Sorry for the caps, I get excited. But seriously, DO SOMETHING. Do some squats for your booty. Do some pop pilates. Do some zumba in your living room. None of those require any equipment except a computer- which I assume you have if you’re reading this. If you want to do any of the things I mentioned, go to youtube and search for some videos! This is the zumba workout that I would recommend for beginners. Just GET MOVING.

K, bye!

❤ Nannette

Day…?

So, sorry guys.

I’ve been on a crazy ride for the last few weeks. I got a job nannying, I had oral surgery (impacted wisdom teeth) and am currently in Georgia visiting my husbands family. So, to let you guys know:

I just started working out with the doctor’s approval after my oral surgery.
Before that, I was hitting it pretty hard to prep for my 5K. I miss you guys, but I’m not done with my weight loss journey.
I’m in Georgia right now with my husbands very southern family. Thus my diet has suffered quite a bit. Mostly because I don’t want to offend his grandmother. I’m sneaking in Greek yogurt and fruits under the radar, lol.

I’ll be writing soon (:

Day 13&14

Hey, everyone!

Today, I’m going to write.

I mentioned in my previous post (in video format) that I had a paradigm shift so to speak regarding my approach to weight loss. I’ve decided to love myself where I’m at and work on myself in a well-rounded way.

What’s the use in shrinking if I have deeper issues with self image?

Don’t hear what I’m not saying- I’m not giving up. I’m still working out, I’m still eating less and I’m still eating whole foods. I’m just taking a good look at what I’m actually wanting to accomplish.

My desire to lose weight was actually a desire to love myself. I seriously believe that if I hadn’t arrived at this conclusion, I would have ended up with an eating disorder (again). I want to feel comfortable in my own skin. I felt the solution was to change my skin. It wasn’t. Yes, I should lose weight to be healthy. Yes, clothes shopping will be easier once I’ve lost weight.

But, loving myself? That can start right now. Why go through this journey with a negative driving force? What was pushing me to keep going was utter self-disgust. I wanted SO BADLY to not be “ugly” or “fat” anymore, that I wouldn’t fail. While I would have succeeded at losing weight with this negative force, I would have never arrived at a place where I loved myself.

Love is blind, people.

People always use that verse in reference to interpersonal love. But what about intrapersonal love? What about love for myself? That has never been blind. As a matter of fact, my love for myself has been contingent on my physical appearance my entire life. What kind of life is that?

So, I’m making a change. This might seem silly to anyone else, but who cares?

I’m focusing on beautifying myself.

What I mean is that I’m going to be investing in my own aesthetics. If you know me, you know that this is extremely out of character. I dress like a teenage boy. I mostly wear my husband’s t-shirts (7 or 8) and own ONE pair of jeans and ONE pair of stretchy but fitted legging pant things. I don’t wear make up. I don’t do my hair. I don’t do my eyebrows. None of that.

And that part of my life is over. I tried to blend in to the back ground. 90% of the clothes I wear are grey. I hadn’t considered the significance of this. I LOVE colors but I always feel like I can’t pull them off. I just want to hide in plain sight when it comes to my clothes. I didn’t maintain my facial beauty because, to be honest, I was terrified of being beautiful.

I felt like being beautiful was one step closer to becoming a rape victim again. It’s been a VERY intense fear that has lingered between subconsciousness and consciousness for years. It’s hard to confront that fear albeit necessary. I can’t continue to live in fear of being raped. It’s dysfunctional and unnecessary. Life is for the living and living in fear is not living at all.

So, with that, I’m going to start doing my make up, doing my hair, buying stylish clothes (difficult!!) and stuff like that.

What is life if it is not beauty?

Here’s to beautifying myself, loving myself, embracing myself and -most importantly- accepting myself.

Love,

Nannette

Day 12

Paradigm Shift ❤

Day 11

I pre-apologize for spelling or grammatical errors.

Holy Green Tea, Batman!

I developed an addiction overnight to Starbucks iced green tea with sugar free vanilla. It took up about 60% of what I consumed today. I also had a turkey wrap (small) and an egg, ham and cheese sandwich. Again, didn’t track calories. I feel like my whole week is screwed up. So, I will begin tracking again this Wednesday. I was out and busy all day so no real work out. (I suck!!)
However, tomorrow morning, I’m hiking! It’s my birthday and I like to hike a specific hill on my birthday. It’s not super challenging but it’s a great view from the top. It’s called “A” Mountain.

Im posting this from my new iPad Mini. I have the best husband in the world. I’m going to hit the hay.

GOOD NIGHT.

Day 9 & 10

Here’s the update for Day 9 & 10.

Love you guys!

-Nannette