Changing Rooms & C-Sections: Losing The Baby Weight One Step At A Time.

Day 222 A note on Reiki: Weight Loss vs. Fertility

2011-11-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

Those of you who've used Reiki aid what ails you I'm sure have experience pretty decent or at least varying results.

Just wanted to note that though I originally tried reiki to help with breaking bad habits such as sugar cravings, and that worked well, I wanted to corroborate the rumor that it works quickly and effectively for fertility.

I got pregnant within 48 hours of my first treatment. Nothing much different about the mode by which I got pregnant :) - probably even less likely considering the time of the month however, the facts speak for themselves. Coincidence?

Hmmm,

Rayo

Time Machine Mishap

2011-11-21T22:19:00.000-08:00

Date: November 21st
Time: Almost 10:00 pm
Number of months passed since my last post: 7
Pounds lost since first attempts: 0
Weight: 170 something
Exercise: Hot yoga, walking

I'd just like to say that attempting to lose baby weight within a month or two of having a baby is a very stupid idea. I don't know who would do such a thing. (Myself) Unless you are complete with nanny, numerous cars, deep pockets, a screamin' bad body image problem/ocd motivation and a relatively easy birth, give it some time. I had none of these things.

I do however have a nut job for a son. He is the sweetest thing i've ever seen and my motivation for keeping habits that make me feel good and keep me healthy.

INCHES LOST: 12!

HOW? Breast feeding, hot yoga, walking, some diet maneuvers and staying busy.

SO THEN, WHY have I lost no actual pounds??? The jury's still out. In all my experience I've never had a client with such a disparate result. So, sleuth is on the job to find out how it is i can look so different, wear a different size and still weigh the same? I know what you're thinking, MUSCLE, right? It must have all converted. I assure you, my convertible top is up, it's raining here in Seattle and I've only put on a bit more of the lean stuff. There is much dark matter still to account for. Scientists are standing by.

Love and hope in transit,

Rayo

Day Eight: Small Victories

2011-04-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

My son learns new sounds everyday and uses them promptly. It's absolutely engrossing to watch. He's still young enough for this to be the cutest thing anyone's ever seen. Today we're going to dig up Eddie Murphy's music career and learn those sounds. I figured Oskar's rendition might serve as a positive affirmation for getting my screenplay finished.

I'm going to have to skip the menu for today as I am totally slammed as previously mentioned in my posts. but I will say that as of Thursday, yesterday, one week from beginning this blog and this adventure and saying hello to you folks the weigh in was a success.

178.9 pounds.

1 week = 1 pound

new goal: week 2 = another pound

wish me luck,

Rayo

Day Seven: Happiness & Metabolism

2011-04-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

Today's Question:
Can you burn off 1000 calories in a day, just typing?

Today's possible answer:
Hopefully. Cuz, that's what I'll be doing for the next 6 days to make a fellowship deadline that I'm trying for. Part physical exertion, part mental toil to write something worth reading (facial and ever-important butt muscles), and part pure enjoyment of the moment. (Some butt muscles also required.) Being in the moment burns calories right? I THINK it does. The science isn't in but most people if you ask them may feel as if they've lost more weight when they were busy and not paying attention to losing it. Just simply happy and uninterested in filling the void, because there was no void to fill. Hmmm. Interesting. So the only thing would be, what is it that makes you happy enough to just exist in the moment...???

"Menu":
Speaking of the void, you don't even wanna know what I ate yesterday. It is neither cute nor helpful. Without naming any names, let's just say it may or may not have had something to do with mostly brown food. What do we know about brown food? It's almost never lowfat and almost certainly robs your fiber stores blind like a gang of teenage south seas pirates; no effin prisoners. And of course, it often tastes like a million bucks. Tuesday was brown food day. Today is brown food memorial as I can afford no more negligence if Thursday weigh in is to be more than hollow sham. A few more days of straight typing means less time for walking, which means less brown food, more green food. Capice? Capice.

So naturally, Todays Featured Nutrient: Your friend, FIBER. Why is fiber so damn good for you and an absolute essential if you're trying to lose weight? Atkins mourners, listen up! (a note: i do not normally reference Web MD, i'm just in a hurry and what they say is true and 87% of the fiber story.) - http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/why-you-need-more-fiber

With that, I gotta roll into screenplay land with this here baby on my lap.

Green,

Rayo

Day Six: Zen Master

2011-04-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Well, just as I commit to one awesome thing, another awesome thing beats down my door.

Day six was a low-calorie wonderland because I got my hands on something so exciting I forgot to eat. Just a little. This appetite is impossible to ignore so I really only ended up on the 1750 side of things and all great food. Cravings for sweets at a low today.

Today's Poll: How did your cravings for sweets change from before being pregnant, during and after? I had surprising bouts of zen master no sugar while pregnant. What was that?

So, the awesome thing: Trying to meet a deadline for a writing fellowship. This will be the reason for short and spotty posting for a few days until it's done. I've set myself an inhumane goal and I intend to inure myself stylishly trying to make it. By May 3rd I will be finished. Wish me luck!

As for the diet until then. Brain food.

Voici:

Avocado
Nuts
Olives
Turkey
Whole Grain Cereal w/soy milk
Eggs
Greens
Smoothies
Evening Primrose Oil

Still just walking when I can. The sun is out. Today will see another. My only break. Looking forward to Thursday weigh in to see what needs adjusting.

Smartypants,

Rayo

Day Five: Jesus Eggs

2011-04-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

3 Things you should know about maximizing your time/workout
1. During a resistance workout you get the large majority of your muscle tearing in your first set of reps.
2. Jumping back and forth between cardio and resistance can significantly boost your calorie burn during a workout.
3. Your body metabolizes/burns calories after you're done with you're workout. The burn after a resistance workout is much longer than the burn after a cardio workout.

3 Things you should just know

1. Buy this book, here. It rules, it is an incredible reference. I used it everyday until eventually memorizing it.

2. Despite the reputation of postpartum weight loss, a large percentage of woman actually become smaller than their pre-pregnancy weight/size in the year after their baby is born.

3. You're beautiful.

TODAY
Our baby pooped up his own back in the car as the ferry was almost pulling into terminal.
I ate good menu @ approx. 1600 calories so far and a few more to come, in the for of crap, two hours before bed. Last night my husband came up with a very disturbing voice he is now using in conversation. It's called the "do you like fruit salad?" voice. I took a 35 minute walk with the baby in the Bjorn. That was good. Gotta do it again tomorrow. However, dereliction of duty; I still haven't taken measurements. But, Thursday deadline, Thursday weigh-in.

Strangers with candy,

Rayo

Champagne Brunch on the Peninsula

2011-04-24T15:03:00.001-07:00

Delish. And I definitely don't say, 'delish'.
Duck egg, cauliflower, ham, chevre scramble
Yogurt, strawberries, raspberries
Minea Farms Orchard apple cider http://www.pugetsoundfresh.org/farm_profile.asp?farmID=232 and champagne
More to come later...

Today's Reflection: A 'Thon is always a good idea. Im going around to all my neighbors today to see if i can collect a dollar for every block i walk. a Walk-a-thon. Perhaps it will motivate me on a day like today. Whatever your activity, see if you can do it in the name of an 'a-thon'.

A little reminder; sitting still burns calories. Just not as much hot yoga. (400-800 on avg depending on your fitness level)
aboard a ferry,
Rayo

Day Four: Your Inner Butt Child

2011-04-24T00:39:00.001-07:00

Today's Advice: The subject of loving your butt came up today. "No matter what, butt." I encourage my clients to love their butts. And sometimes that's tough love. Imagine. Open your heart. Help your inner butt match your outer butt.

Today's Featured Suppliment: Probiotics: It's Ambrosia for your butt brain. Balance your flora and fight off depression, increase your metabolism and lengthen your life. No joke. I've got some articles around here somwhere, I will share soon.

On the road today, family visits, etcetera and that means baked goods. And some lucky bacon. Sigh. WAY off the wagon. I may not have furthered the cause today but we DID go to the beach and what's good for the mind is good for the body.

the truth:
coffee
smoothie
duck egg n bacon n muffin (mad face)
oatmeal choc chip cookie (mad face)
roasted pork sandwich
baked potato
asparagus
flank steak
homemade bread
olives nicoise
oatmeal choc chip cookie (mad face)
beer
...you see what I mean.

To make up for it I'd like to share my Top Five Tricks to get yourself back into the gym:

1. Plan three days at the gym for the following week and no further. Keep those plans no matter what, prioritise those plans.
2. Then, on those days go and work out for 20 minutes only and then leave. Keep it tight. 20 minutes only. Plan anew each week, adding 5-10 minutes each week.
3. Plan your workout around your favorite show and watch it at the gym on the elliptical, then leave as soon as you're done.
4. Start your workouts by working out only as long as it takes to read one long chapter and then leave the gym forthwith. Do this for two weeks, 3 times per week and then add a second chapter.
5. Get a gym buddy to start with you. They meet you there and hold you accountable for your workout.

Sleep of the just,
Rayo

Day Three: A meditation on 'french cut' anything

2011-04-23T01:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Poll: Homemade vs. store bought sweets

Is it better to bake with great, organic ingredients and no preservatives but have lots around for temptation, or only buy one of something from the store so you're not tempted to continue to eat but the ingredients are often much worse for you?

Today's Advice: Food is your friend.
Today's Reflection: It's okay to walk around all day with your pants unbuttoned if you are a good person.

So! Great stuff today. And totally over calorie budget. (mad face)
MENU:
Sunlight
Coffee
Not enough water
Smoothie
Eggs & Toast
Pot stickers (mad face)
Orange
Beans & Rice & Fresh Veggies and corn chips
Beer
Homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (feigned mad face)

ACTIVITY:
Lots of breastfeeding
A walk around the block
A walk to the store
Best friend came over, other friend brought farm eggs over
Pain at c-section surgery site, as yesterday
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Burp. Top ten go-to foods, off the top of my head:

Avocado
Berries
Olives
Sprouted Grains
Apples
Bananas

Almond Butter
Whole Beans
Yogurt
Organic, hormone-free, free-range eggs & meats

The day ends with optimism, origami and Red Dwarf.

Tell your friends,

Rayo

The Standard

2011-04-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

My go to meals these first days ...

Smoothie: strawberries, banana, og yogurt, oj, whey protein, cinnamon, soy milk

Farm eggys, sprouted grain toast, real butter

Stir fry. Ha. In Bali. I wish! But really, a stir fry lunch or dinner which looks almost as good.

My name is popcorn. I am awesome. I can spike your sugar levels but I mean well. I am especially delicious air popped or with a bit of sesame oil added if stove topped. I am an excellent vehicle for brewer's yeast. Thanks for stopping by! -Roughage

Day Two: Setting Goals

2011-04-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

Sleep schmeep. The husband and I stayed up late talking about WHY it is people wish to lose weight if they are in fact happy with themselves which we both agree is imperative, of course. Feels like too obtuse of a subject to report any further on for my mood right now, so perhaps our thoughts will unfold over time.

Back to facts: I ended the night with one third of a bowl of Kashi 'grape nuts' and some soy milk. I wanted seven bowls. I would never condone eating before bed. Calorie storage is a tricky thing and you don't want to do yourself or your insulin resistance the disservice. In an ideal world you should give yourself hours between eating and sleeping. But you know that. So, why am I eating at one o'clock in the morning? I cannot overstate the unbridled voraciousness of the breastfeeding mother. Good god. It seems silly to stop eating as I know I will just be hungry again in minutes.

A doc appointment today revealed the following:
180 pounds (heyseus!) - and what does that mean?

Well, that's up from a pre-pregnancy weight of 153, which is about five or six pounds heavier than my usual hover point of about 146 - 147 and 14 above my fighting weight of 139. But who am I kidding? That was then and I don't plan on sparring or fighting again. (hmmm) It's tricky to choose a goal weight without some other considerations, such as, why are we still talking about the scale?

Inches: waist xx, hips xx, bust xx, bicep xx, tricep xx, deltoid xx, quadricep high & low xx xx, gastrocnemius xx.

Inches. Many people are more interested in this phenomenon, where by there is actually less of you, visibly. I will be taking all of the above measurements to give me a good idea of what I'm dealing with. The numbers are still coming in on this but it's likely I will use my measurements as a guide more often than I will my weight. There are a few reasons for this, namely that your weight is not always indicative of your fitness level. I, for instance, run big. I am often physically smaller in stature than other women my same weight and certainly my same weight class. Much of this has to do with muscle density. As we know, muscle weighs more than fat. I consider muscle very important in the journey to health and would never begrudge anyone extra pounds that were a result of lifting or just having a higher muscle percentage.

Other considerations:

Height - 5'4"+
Age 33, almost 34
I have an athletic background but it's been 8+ months since following a steady fitness routine
I have old injuries and misalignments that need correction

ONE THING I will not be doing this time around but I will touch on later is body fat and lean muscle mass percentages. I won't be testing myself as I'm familiar with my own stats and I'm simply more concerned with making sure I'm making plenty of high quality food for my son. And that means eating. How much? 500 more calories per day than normal. No problem. But how is it that eating can help you LOSE weight? Eating often, in small amounts sends your body the message to burn fuel rather than store it as fat. Of course that's assuming that what you're eating is healthy. And that's another argument all together.

The day, in summary:
Lots and lots of good water
Coffee
Smoothie - banana, strawberry, yogurt, oj, cinnamon, whey protein
Dried mango slices
Nitrate-free Chicken sausage, jasmine rice, roasted veggies
A walk to the store (short)
3 Hershey's Miniatures milk chocolate
Tofu & Veggie stir-fry
1 Good beer

Goals? In my opinion successful goal setting for weight loss includes short term and long term.

Short Term: 1 pound in week 1 - 4/28/11
Utilizing primarily calorie moderation, calorie quality and breast feeding. Will also do daily stretching and short walks simply to increase movement. 2 pounds in week 2 by increasing movement.

Mid Term: I don't know yet. TBA

Long term: 18 pounds in 12 weeks - 7/7/11
Calorie moderation, calorie quality, breast feeding, 2-3 different kinds of cardiovascular excersize, resistance training and yoga. Calories will increase as movement increases.Variance approx. 1700 - 2300 calories. (Pre-preg daily calorie intake was about 1300-1800 avg.)

Phew. Man. That's it for now. Tomorrow, another adventure in acceptance and starch avoidance.

Yours,

Rayo

Day One: Changing Rooms & C-Sections

2011-04-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

Ugh.

170 something pounds.

I'm drinking a beer. A Scotch ale to be specific. I'm told it will help boost my milk supply and I'm not complaining.

My husband and I are scanning Netflix after a medium-sized day out with our nearly seven week old little boy Oskar. The day included an inspiring trip to a large/chain/conglomerate/scare-tactic department store, which included a brief unplanned trip into the changing room, which included an abusive exchange with the changing room's full-length mirror/electron microscope. I was planning to begin my workouts again soon but the day hadn't officially been set until the all-too-familiar moment of pondering the unfairness in the mirror of wherever you may be. That day would be today.

As someone who has spent a great deal of time contemplating the body and its health, my official position is that one must love one's self, inside and out and that partnership with the body is the basis for happiness and for any healthy and successful change. That said, the journey in and out of shape can be a hellish one. Will is required. Choice takes on new meaning. Failure feels eminent. The only reason I will be getting back on this horse so zealously is that I have done it before and am trying to remind myself I can do it again. I can follow my own advice.

There are so many considerations when it comes to losing weight after your baby is born. How was the birth? How are you healing? Are you breastfeeding? Do you have any other health considerations as a result of pregnancy? What does your doctor say? It's unlike any other time in the life of your body and any regimens you begin now should be taken on with a great deal of caution. I assumed, being a trainer, that I would have a fit pregnancy and most likely not have a huge project ahead of me to lose the weight. Perhaps breastfeeding alone would shed quite a few of the extra pounds. No such luck. I had respiration problems from the beginning, such that I could barely walk a block without getting out of breath. This and other issues changed the game for me early on and made me wonder how my body would recoup after the blessed event with so little exercise during those 10 months. As if to punctuate the unexpected workload, we ended up needing a c-section, my son and I, and this brings about its own delay, healing and special care. So, proving the old rule there are many different kinds of pregnancy experiences I want prove again, though things may slow us down, they cannot stop us.

So, the idea: This blog will act as MY coach. My accountability will be to you, blog. And you, readers, if you do exist. Everyday, sucky or not, I will spit the successes and fubars. Disclose the numbers and figures. The truth, the tips and secrets that shouldn't be secrets. Follow along, day by day, use it, see if it works for you, if you wish - it will be thorough. But for goodness sake, by no means am I a doctor and what I choose to do, I am simply sharing. I am not suggesting or prescribing or any other coercion that requires a disclaimer or a medical credential. Also remember that diet and exercise programs should be initiated under physician supervision, especially if you have any health concerns to begin with.

Enough with that stuff. Ahem. Beer is empty. Water is in the glass. I will attempt to get as much sleep as a new mother can. Tomorrow, the details. Measurements, exact weight, food plan, fitness goals. Attitude adjustment. Pep talk. And perhaps....a walk.

Yours,

Rayo