A Little Too Much Weekend Fun

I stepped on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh-in -- up 3 lbs.

Uh-oh.

"Whatever," I thought to myself.  There's no possible way that I gained 3 lbs over the week.  Sure, I did enjoy a few too many slices of flag cake and I had a couple of beers with dinner.  After the BBQ last night, I'm probably just retaining water. 

Then, I checked my food journal.  Oops.  My last entry was July 1st at lunch.  Why hadn't I been writing down what I was eating?  I started to rack my brain trying to remember my meals.  Let's see... there was the McDonalds on the way to the commissary.  And the huge hot fudge brownie ice cream sundae on Friday.  Saturday, Jason and I worked our way through a pint of Americone Dream while watching movies.  Oh, I forgot about the candy bar I had on the way home from the commissary.  And there were the several granola bars I had while researching an article for work. 

Maybe that 3 lbs isn't just water weight.

I still don't think I ate 10,000 extra calories over the last few days, but since I wasn't journaling, I'm really not sure.  I'm going to officially weigh-in tomorrow to give myself a chance to recover from last night's dinner.  I'll still probably be up, but it's nothing I can't deal with.  I'm going to be a little more vigilant and make sure that I'm recording what I eat.  I'm going to drink my water.  I'm going to follow my new running schedule.  I'm not going to think about how ecstatic I was last week when I was a mere 2 lbs from my pre-baby weight.

One bad weekend isn't going to derail my months of work.

Another Pointless Committee

Last month, Roni (of Roni's Weigh) did a completely awesome post about the obesity epidemic and what the Healthy Weight Committment Foundation aims to do about it. While Roni offered some great ideas of her own, the new organization was basically just rehashing the same old, same old -- exercise and eat right. Well, duh.

Anyways, I wanted to share my very long-winded comment to her here on KUrunner.

I agree that something needs to be done, but I very much disagree with their methods. Obesity is not as simple as calories in versus calories out. I think most Americans are already “conscious” that we need to eat better and exercise. Weight loss and health is so much more than that.

Why are we overweight in the first place? We know more about nutrition and exercise now than we did 100 years ago, even 50 years ago. But the numbers keep going up. Telling me that I need to eat X number of calories doesn’t change the fact that I want that candy bar.

We, as a society, is stressed to the limit. Moms are expected to be super; we are supposed to get up, make a healthy breakfast for the family, get the kids dressed, pack the husband’s lunch, drop the kids off at school and make it to work by 8:00 for a staff meeting. Then, we are supposed to workout during lunch while magically working on a presentation, pick the kids up and cart them off to soccer, dance and band. We go home and make a wonderful pasta primavera from scratch while entertaining three kids without resorting to TV or video games. Don’t forget the laundry that we have to do or the bathrooms we need to scrub. Then, we are expected to make time for the husband.

Yeah, right. No wonder that McDonald’s looks so tempting on the way home.

If HWCF wants change, maybe they should go after the source. Change the goverment that makes boxes of processed crap cheaper than fruits and vegetables. Go after the fast food restaurants that are on every corner where an extra value meal is cheaper than a pound of meat. I’m not saying that there isn’t personal responsibility involved, but it’s kind of unfair to the crack addict when society willingly puts a dealer on every street. (And yes, I believe that being obese is just as dangerous as being hooked on drugs.)

But telling us what we’ve already been told thousands of times before isn’t going to change anything.

But it gets better. This "health-minded" group is made up of CEOs from companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Mars, Hershey, and Kraft. They are the same ones that make it cheaper to buy a 2 liter of soda than a bottle of juice. They are the ones that sell sugar, sugar, and more sugar to our kids. You think that dinosaur on the macaroni box is targeting adults?

Here's what they should be saying:

Eat less, but keep eating our neon orange processed macaroni. Watch your calories, but keep buying our high fructose corn syrup and aspartame laden sodas. Don't be fat kids, but make sure to save room for a candy bar later.

Anyways, if you're as pissed off as I am now, feel free to send them an email at info@healthyweightcommit.org telling them that if they really want to enact change, they should start with their own products.

Got a Little Depressed There...

While working on my P90X results post, I started thinking about how much further I have to go to get back to my goal. I don’t have a specific number in my head, but it’s at least another 40 lbs away.

And that’s really depressing.

I was so upset with myself when I gained 87 lbs in less than a year. (Okay, sure part of that was a baby, but still.) Then I lost it. Yay me! Then I gained it again. Un-freaking-believable.

So I leave you with the few pictures I have of me at a comfortable weight.

November 2002

March 2009

This is What 50 lbs Looks Like

I think I may have swallowed a small watermelon.

I was sorting through some pictures and thought these made for a nice comparison. The left is me, 166 lbs and 5 weeks pregnant. The right is the day I went into labor (39 weeks and 6 days) at 215 lbs.

Seven more pounds to go!

X-posted at http://twoembrys.wordpress.com/.

Back to the Drawing Board

Ugh, my first weight gain since I’ve had Harper. I needed to lose 1.6 lbs this week to keep up with my birthday goal; instead, I’m up 0.8. Yeah, yeah… it’s not even a pound. But it really sucks that I’m at the point where the weight isn’t just falling off anymore. I’m breastfeeding! Aren’t breastfeeding moms supposed to burn like a kajillion calories a day and wake up looking like Heidi Klum ready to don tiny lingerie and strut down a runway?

I guess not.

Well, I really didn’t want it to come to this, but I guess I’m going to go back to tracking calories. Sadly, the 5th anniversary of my 24th birthday is only 5 weeks away and I have 10.4 lbs left to lose. I’m not going to throw the towel in yet since 2 lbs a week is still doable, but I really need to reign in the eating. Weight loss is 80% nutrition and I have to admit, I’ve been enjoying the freedom of eating whatever crap I wanted and still see the numbers going down.

I’m off to Nutrition Data to see how much I can eat today.

Chemical of the Week - Aspartame

I’ve been working on this post for weeks because if there is anything I’m passionate about it’s chemistry (and why we shouldn’t eat things found on a lab bench.) I want to do a new chemical that’s commonly found in food each week, but I’ve decided to start with aspartame because it is everywhere. It’s also one of the most dangerous food additives currently being used and if I could just stop one person (including myself) from eating the crap, I’ll have done my job.

What is it?
Aspartame is a chemical sweetener invented in 1965, also known as N-(L-α-Aspartyl)-L-phenylalanine, 1-methyl ester. While aspartame isn’t calorie free, it’s 200 times sweeter than sugar so smaller quantities are used to get the same sweetness.

History

Aspartame was denied by the FDA 8 times before it got approval. In fact, when it was finally approved, the FDA revoked it’s approval and determined that the company’s safety data on aspartame had been manipulated. The US Attorneys Office began proceedings against the head of the company, G.D. Searle. However, while the investigation was underway, the lead attorney left the case and took a job with Searle’s law firm. Sketchy, right? In 1980, the FDA set up a review board which found that aspartame had not been shown to be safe for use as a food additive. A year later, a new FDA commissioner was appointed and overrulled the review board allowing aspartame to be used in food. Want to take a guess who he started working for after he left the FDA? Yep, he started working for Searle’s public relations firm. Congress began to prosecute Searle for giving the government false information, but the attorneys assigned to the case chose not to proceed. Not to sound repetitive, but they also landed jobs with Searle’s law firm.

In 1996, the FDA approved aspartame without restrictions and without public notice.

Health Benefits
Although aspartame supporters argue that the chemical is useful in the management of diabetes, studies show otherwise. Not eating sugar is really what helps manage diabetes, not eating chemically sweetened products made from aspartame. Heroin doesn’t cause lung cancer, but is it really a good replacement for cigarettes?

Health Hazards
Numerous studies have shown a link between aspartame and brain tumors. There are more than 90 different side effects from aspartame consumption ranging from headaches and dizziness to memory loss and seizures. Aspartame is directly linked to weight gain and causes formaldehyde accumulation in the body. (Thing of high school biology.) More than 75% of complaints to the FDA are aspartame related. Aspartame has also been linked to birth defects. Sadly, the FDA must not be informed of any of these studies. Their official position is:

Since it was first approved for use in the United States, the safety of aspartame has been questioned by some. To date, however, the agency has not been presented with scientific information that would support a change in our conclusions about the safety of aspartame. Those conclusions are based on a detailed review of a large body of information, including more than 100 toxicological and clinical studies regarding the sweetener’s safety.

Good luck trying to track down any of those 100 studies, though. Their website turned up very little information of aspartame. And, um, what about the hundreds of studies I found after a quick search on Google Scholar?

The Bottom Line
Aspartame is obviously bad stuff. If you are wondering why the FDA would approve something so dangerous, remember that it’s a $1 billion industry.

Whether or not you believe the hype on either side of the debate, the important fact is that aspartame is NOT food. Aspartame is a chemical. Apples don’t have aspartame. Eggs don’t have aspartame. Spinach doesn’t have aspartame. Sodas do have aspartame. Processed foods do have aspartame. Candies do have aspartame. I don’t think you need a scientific study (or goverment organization) telling you which diet is healthier.

I swear it's my last one.

Note:  This blog post is not all-inclusive.  It's a truncated review that points out what I find important.  Please do your own research if you feel mine is lacking!

Ten Weeks

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 10 weeks since Harper’s been home from the hospital. (Technically, 10 weeks and 2 days, but who’s counting?) She’s just shy of 13 lbs now and is happily wearing large 3-6 and small 6-9 clothing. I’m very proud since not a drop of formula has passed her mouth and she’s gaining like a bottle baby. Strangers don’t believe that she’s only 2 months old and she’s an expert at rolling over now. Unfortunately, Kaelin’s not gaining as well; she only put on a pound in the last six weeks.

As for me, I’m down 25.6 lbs since we came home from the hospital and 40 lbs total. I still have about 10 lbs to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (and another 40 lbs after that). The goal is to make it by Memorial Day (aka my birthday!). That’s only 6 weeks! Yikes… 1.6 lbs/week. I really need to step it up this next month.

On to the bad habits… well, um, that’s why they are bad habits. I hate to admit it, but I made it 4 days without my Red Bull. Between the headaches and my lack of sleep, the family and I decided it would be better if I had a little caffeine in my system. I’ve also had a bit of chocolate (bit being defined as a pound’s worth) over the last week, but I’m not going to beat myself up about it. I can only move forward, right?

I haven’t had any soda or fast food though. Yay me!

Tomorrow, I’ll be unveiling a new weekly feature so make sure to check back!

Edit: I made it 4 days without Red Bull, 5 days without candy, and an amazing 8 days without soda or fast food. Back to the drawing board.

Q & A

Question: Your blog is called KUrunner. Why aren’t you talking about running?

Sadly, I haven’t been able to do much running since I became pregnant. At first, I was too sick. Later on, I was too big. There are tons of women who can run while incubating a baby; I just don’t happen to be one of them.

Now that the bun is out of the oven, I’m trying to ease back into running. However, finding time to run with a newborn who is nursing every hour or so has been difficult. I also need to buy a couple of new sports bras because of aforementioned newborn. Let’s see… I also need a new pair of shoes, a new Nike+ sensor, and a few hours to make a new running mix for my iPod. (I’m sorry, but if I have to hear SexyBack one more time, I’m going to shave off those pretty little locks of his.) Plus, running with an extra 30+ lbs on your bones is killer on your joints.

Question: You are doing P90X. Are you following the whole program?

No. So far, I’ve followed the exercise program, but P90X also has a nutrition plan. For the first month it’s very low carb, and bad things happen if I don’t get enough carbs. Sure, I’m not going to get the same results as if I used their meal plan, but my husband’s not going to get stabbed with a butter knife. That’s a win in my book.

I’m also going to add running back into my routine. I’ll still be doing the same P90X workouts but with a couple of added cardio sessions.

Edit: I’m also not doing AbRipperX. I just had a baby; my abs are ripped enough, thanks. (I’ll be starting it during month 2.)

Question: So, what sort of diet do you follow?

Diet? What’s that? I haven’t done a “diet” in almost 10 years and that was Slim-Fast. Yes, I lost some weight, but it wasn’t anything I could follow for the long term. I’ve tried South Beach a couple of times but I’ve never made it more than a few days because, again, carbs keep me sane.

Basically, I eat real food. If something is made from chemicals, I don’t eat it. Real food: eggs, milk, wheat, etc. Fake food: HFCS, aspartame, red dye #3, etc. I do have a sweet tooth and I tend to eat out bit too much, but it’s a work in progress.

Question: What’s up with your picture page? Are you taking before & afters of your P90X experience?

My old computer crashed. While I have bought a shiney new computer, I have yet to install my old hard drive into it. All of my weight-related pictures are on it. (At least I hope so. Man, it would suck if my old hard drive crapped out. Let this be a lesson about backing up your files.)

Yes, I have before pictures of both myself and the husband. However, they are incredibly embarrassing and I don’t want to make them public until I have some awesome after pictures to share. Plus, I just had a baby. Nobody looks good right after having a baby. You know all those celebrities on the tabloids? Airbrushed!

Harper Grace is Here!

This post comes a little bit late, but it’s very hard to type when you have the most adorable little baby craving attention. Harper is two weeks old today after a very surprising appearance (a quick 2 hour labor followed by an unplanned home delivery). She’s doing well, and the whole family is just in love with her.  (Click here for her birth story.)

Unfortunately, I gained more than I had hoped with this pregnancy — 50 lbs! I lost 14 of that at the hospital, then another 13 during our first week home. So even though I’ve lost 27 lbs so far, I still have another 23 to go just to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (and 60 lbs total to get to my goal.) I haven’t “dieted” yet because I’m breastfeeding and cutting calories can interfere with your milk supply, but now that Harper is getting the hang of it and gaining weight well, I’m thinking about trying Weight Watchers.

Numbers on the scale aside, I’m really nervous about my actual fitness level. I stopped running in October and stopped going to the gym altogether in December when my shoes stopped fitting. Apparently, they frown upon working out in flip flops. I’m not supposed to do any vigorous activity for another month, but light exercise is okay, so starting tomorrow, I’m going to be doing the C25k program… again. It feels weird not being able to run for a minute since less than a year ago, I ran a half marathon with no problems. I know I have to start somewhere, but I’m really worried I won’t get my endurance back in time for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. Registration is in April, so I need to figure it out and fast! Sadly, I can’t get back in the gym due to child care issues, so I’m going to be doing 30DS every other day until I can start P90X next month with my husband. I’ve never had much luck working out at home, but I don’t really have many other options.

Yikes, How Long Has It Been?

It’s been almost 3 weeks since I’ve posted. Actually, let’s be honest… it’s been almost three weeks since I’ve taken any sort of active interest in my health and weight.

First of all, the bedrest. I had my appointment on Thursday and I’m no longer confined to my house. In fact, the doctor I had this time told me I should never have been on bedrest anyways. I guess that’s what happens when you go to a practice with more than one doctor. So, um, yay! (And what the hell have I been doing laying on the couch for three weeks?)

In addition to the bedrest, I had a terrible cold that turned into bronchitis. Of course it was viral, and there was nothing they could do for it other than the typical rest and fluids. I finally kicked it and felt great for a few days, but then on Friday, just as I was clear to go back to the gym, Jason so lovingly gave me ANOTHER cold. Yes, I know you can work out with a cold, but my energy was zapped. It’s also hard to do cardio when you can’t breathe and I don’t want to be that person at the gym coughing all over everything. I was all set to go to the gym this morning, but now Kaelin is home sick and the gym is eluding me again.

I don’t know if it was the bedrest, the cold or just Halloween, but I’ve been eating like crap. I didn’t keep a food journal most of the time and when I did, I was averaging like 4000 calories – most of it junk. Did I mention that the commissary is already stocking Christmas candy?

But it’s ok… I have a plan!

1. Get back to tracking. Whether I like to write down the can of Pringles or bag of candy I inhaled, my body know I what I ate.

2. Drink, drink, and drink! I’ve been slacking in the water department when I need it the most. Between being sick and going into the third trimester, I have to make sure I’m getting at LEAST 8 cups of fluids.

3. No more diet soda. Before I got pregnant, I rarely had any sort of diet drink, but a few months ago I started having headaches and the doctor recommended adding a cup of coffee or soda into my diet. Since I don’t drink coffee, I started having a daily Red Bull (sugar-free). Of course, that daily Red Bull turned into two Red Bulls and a Diet Coke. Diet soda is bad. It has no nutritional value, it leaches calcium from your body, and it makes you crave sweets.

4. Limit my fast food. I’ve been eating out way too much and not only is it affecting my health, it’s hurting my wallet. Jason and I have decide to limit ourselves to twice a week.

24 Weeks

I think there is something about pregnancy that saps the creative energy from you. That, or maybe it’s just all the energy going into baby names and nursery themes. Either way, my blogging ability has significantly declined in the past few months. I have topic after topic I want to talk about, but when I sit down at the computer, every thought goes out of my head.

I’m 24 weeks now. Yay for viability! That means if something bad happens and I go into labor, there is about a 50% chance that the baby will make it. Granted, those aren’t great odds, but over the next few weeks, the survival chance will jump up to 90% and after 34 weeks, the chances are the same as a full-term baby. Of course, I don’t plan on going into labor early, but it’s nice to know. Twenty-four weeks is also supposed to be the best time during pregnancy. You are showing, but you aren’t so big that you can’t see your feet. You still have energy, the baby is active, and you aren’t swollen yet.

Supposed to be, anyways. I’m peeing every 20 minutes, I’m very achy, and I can’t sleep. I feel like I’ve been hit in the crotch with a bowling ball. Repeatedly. I don’t understand it, but I can workout for an hour at the gym with no problems, but I can’t walk around the grocery store without getting winded. I’m also getting overwhelmed with the basic parenting stuff. Since my baby shower isn’t until next month, we have very little set up for the baby. In fact, the nursery is still full of our office furniture.

It’s funny that this is baby #2 because I don’t remember having these feelings when I was pregnant with Kaelin.  Anyways, I had my 24 week weigh-in and I haven’t quite hit that 20 lb mark yet. I’m at 19 lbs, but if I keep gaining at about a pound a week, I’ll be around 35 lbs when I deliver. It’s a little high for what I wanted at the start of my pregnancy, but still within reason.

Weekly Weigh-In

I must admit, I’ve been terrified to step on the scale lately. My last weigh-in was 3 weeks ago, and since then my diet has taken a turn for the worse. I had been craving fruit and yogurt. Now, it’s Pringles and cake decorations. I’ve eaten out in the past few weeks more than I have in the past few months. I’ve stopped at the commissary almost everyday to pick up cheesecake, donuts, ice cream, chocolate, pepperoni, and candy. I’ve still been going to the gym, but I haven’t been tracking my food. I would like to think all of this is pregnancy related, but honestly, it’s not really that different from how I was eating two years ago sans bun in the oven.

Ideally, I wanted to gain 21 lbs. I would be okay with gaining 34. Thirty-four pounds would put me back to the 200 mark, and I’m really not okay with going over 200, even while pregnant.

I sucked it up and stepped on the scale after a 3 week hiatus… 183. Ouch. It’s not as bad as I expected, but that’s not saying much since I thought it would be more of a 10 lb gain. Four pounds in 3 weeks isn’t unreasonable for a pregnant woman in her second trimester, but that leaves me with only 4 lbs left for another 19 weeks. Not going to happen. My second and third trimester weight gain goals are about half a pound a week. Even if I was able to stick to that, I would need to gain another 10 lbs. Which again, I’m okay with… the problem is…

Pregnant bodies are dumb. Apparently, growing a fetus means that the whole calories in, calories out thing doesn’t apply anymore. There were weeks where my diet was PERFECT. Dairy, fruits, veggies, water. My calories were spot on. Then I would step on the scale and gain 5 lbs. Weeks when I was living on McDonalds, not getting enough water, and craving sweets I would actually lose. So it’s really hard to convince myself that my weight will be fine as long as I eat healthy. I could do everything “right” and still wind up gaining 50 lbs with this pregnancy.

Don’t get me wrong; I would never diet while I was pregnant. My first concern is that the baby gets what she needs and grows. It’s just hard to block out the weight loss mentality when you’ve been so concerned about a number on the scale for the better part of a decade.

Previous weight: 179.2 lbs (18 weeks pregnant)
Current weight: 183.0 lbs (21 weeks pregnant)
Change: +3.8 lbs
Total pregnancy gain: 17.4 lbs