Such a LOSER!

It's been a while since I've updated you on my weight-loss journey and I'll tell you why...FAILURE!  That's what it's been, a complete an utter failure.  I keep telling myself, "this time I'm changing for real!" and I work my butt off to lose 5 pounds. Then I get lax aaaaand gain it all back.  Just call me the yo-yo.  I have honestly lost and gained the same 5 pounds at least 12 times, that's enough to make a small person!  I could have been over half-way to my ultimate goal weight by now! 

So, here's the good news.  After having the time of my life on an Alaskan cruise (and gaining 8lbs of savory food and sweet dessert) I decided not to join any more weightloss groups.  Just me, on my own.  I realized that I have to do this for me, not for a money prize, or to be the #1 loser for 2 months only to take a week or two off before the next round and wreck all my hard work.  I have to do it for ME.
The results... I've lost 11 pounds since the cruise.  Whew!  Ten of those pounds were in the last two weeks.  (insert "Wow" and "You go girl!")  To be honest, I only consciously changed one thing about my lifestyle but it had kind of a domino effect.  My goal was to drink 4 liters of water a day.  As I did this, I noticed a lot less snacking, naturally wanting smaller portions, less of a desire for junk food (it helped that I put crystal light into 2 of the liters), and *TMI ALERT* more regularity, if you know what I mean.  It's been awesome! 
I look forward to keeping up with my water intake.  I want to focus on it hardcore so it's written on my bladder and then I'll add the next step EXERCISE!!!

Taking on Cafe Rio (my light version)

My husband can vouch for me, I crave Cafe Rio on at least a weekly basis.  But if any of you have ever looked up the caloric values of Cafe Rio dishes you know that the good taste comes at a hefty price (yes, even the salad!).  So in an effort to save some calories, and some cash, I've tried and personalized some of the copycat recipes I've found on Pinterest.  Here's where I got the recipe for the cilantro lime ranch dressing, and here's where I got the recipe for the beans and rice (totally worth the extra effort).

I started out making just the dressing and putting it over some spring mix salad with Jack Daniel's pulled pork (from Sam's Club) and some fresh Parmesan grated on top, sprinkled with sliced almonds.  This worked out to be just under 200 calories!  Awesome lunch!
Last night I made the beans and rice to accompany the dressing and pulled pork in a burrito.  Not exactly like Cafe Rio but still really good.  Just some things I did differently...
Rice: instead of using lime I used about 2-3 tablespoons of the cilantro lime dressing (we didn't have any more limes).
Black Beans: I doubled the cumin and used tomato sauce instead of tomato juice (again, we didn't have juice and I really don't mind improvising a little, plus it made the burrito not as runny).
With the tortilla, beans, rice, meat, dressing, cheese, and about a tablespoon of diced green chilis (yum!) it came out to roughly 350 calories.  Gimme a 'what what!'  Does it taste exactly  like Cafe Rio...no.  Is it a low calorie substitute that captures the complex sweet and savory depths of Cafe Rio!?  YES!  Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself.  Let me know how it turns out!

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!!!)