My New Lifestyle

Some of you know that I gained quite a bit of weight during pregnancy on top of already unwelcome weight.  I've been really fluctuating with regards to dropping weight then gaining it back.  Being a part of Hot Mama's Biggest Loser (started by an old roommate of mine) and it has helped me come to grips with how I feel about myself right now.  Truth is, I don't like myself.  It's not just all about how I look, it's about how I physically and emotionally feel, it's about wanting to be as healthy as I can for my family, so I can be active with them, and so I don't have to keep buying clothes because nothing in my closet fits (as fun as shopping can be)!
In an effort to become more accountable I am disclosing my triumphs, fears, goals, and shortcomings with you all!  Lucky you!  It should be pretty entertaining though.  I'll be trying new recipes and exercises that I hope to share with you, along with an honest review, and hopefully someone out there will benefit in some way or another from me sharing my experiences.
 Here's recent pictures of me for documentation (just don't look too closely).

Mommy Workouts
I find that between homework, baby, and not wanting to exercise while people are home (I'm fearful that they'll want to stick hot pokers in their eyes after such a sight), and not wanting to rack up miles by driving 40 miles to town and back, I don't have the time to set aside for an official workout.  What I wind up doing, that works for me, is little bursts of workout throughout my day.  I've found several 10 minute workouts on Pinterest, like this one and this one, that allow me to either do something real quick or stop when I need to and pick up anytime, anywhere I need to.
Some other little things I do:

• Calf-raises or squats while blow-drying hair
• Figure-eights (hips) while washing my face
• Crazy dancing or jumping jacks while feeding Mikey (he gets a kick out of it and usually tries to dance too)
• Calf-raises while brushing my teeth
• Toss-ups with Mikey (holding him above my head and lowering him till our noses touch, he likes it too, but these only count if I do 50 of 'em)
• Running around while holding Mikey and yelling "Zoom zoom zoom zoom!" (like the Flash)

As you can tell, I'm not terribly creative but this is what I do.  As of today I've lost 5 pounds in the last week and a half and while I attribute a lot of it to counting calories using myfitnesspal.com I know that every little bit I can do to get active will help.

Up Next: Homemade Cafe Rio dressing on my makeshift Cafe Rio salad (under 250 calories!!!)