Week 4

This was a challenging week for me. We went to Salt Lake City for a business trip and it was a holiday weekend - which meant nearly a whole week away from the gym and my trainers. Plus the issues with traveling: harder to sleep away from home, grazing while driving in the car, and eating out a lot. Although I had big obstacles to overcome I lost 2.5 pounds this week! I am at a total loss of 13.5 pounds. The lovely weight tracker up in the corner rounds up....no complaints from me ;) At today's weigh in we also took new measurements. I've lost 2 inches off my waist, 1 inch off each arm, 1 inch off each thigh, and 1.5 inches off my hips. I have gone down a whole pant size. I didn't expect to see results like this so quickly and with such a small amount of weight loss. It really makes me thankful that I didn't keep putting off doing something about my weight and makes me feel excited about what a difference the next 10 pounds will make.

While in Salt Lake I spent a lot of time playing with the girls. We went swimming at the hotel and did a lot of walking and playing in the downtown area. Lily especially had a great time exploring the city and Temple Square. It felt good to be out and active rather than spending my time in a mall or movie theater or restaurant. It did take a lot of willpower to avoid the Lion House Bakery and I am proud of myself for being able to stay away. The old me would have spent way too much time scouting out restaurants and looking for sweet treats to entertain myself. This time it was wonderful to focus on the sights, my family, and the outdoors. I hope our future family trips will also be more focused on the things we do rather than the things we buy or eat. Here's to a new beginning in my life as a more active and fun traveling mom!

I know what works for some doesn't work for others but I just wanted to share the few things I use almost daily to help me stay on track. Extra Key Lime Pie chewing gum, Orowheat Sandwich Thins, Propel Fitness Water, and Tootsie Roll Caramel Apple or Tootsie Pop suckers. I was amazed to see that a single piece of bread can have 100-140 calories. The sandwich thins are 100 calories (for two pieces) with 5 grams of fiber. I use them to make sandwiches for lunch. When I need something sweet, I chew on the key lime pie gum. Key lime pie is one of my favorite desserts and the gum has helped me push through many weak moments. I drink a lot of water during the day and it gets old fast. Propel now comes in zero calorie mixes. Mixing one of those up before a workout makes me excited to hit the gym because I know I get to drink something tasty while I workout. I also brought it in on the road with me so I could have something sweet to drink in the car to prevent snacking. My favorite treat of all are the caramel apple suckers. They are 60 calories per sucker and I have one almost every day. I can eat a dessert so fast that it is gone before I really tasted it - which the old me would have used as an excuse to have more dessert! Now when I want a dessert I have a sucker. They take a long time to eat so I get to really enjoy the flavor and I can't eat it fast since it is hard candy. Tootsie rolls are my favorite candy so it is nice to be able to treat myself without blowing my calories.

Silly Sisters

Fun morning with our girls!

Week 3

Down 1.5 pounds this week. Not as big a number as I wanted but I felt that my milk supply was starting to diminish and I was tired of getting up two times a night with Annie so I upped my caloric intake and it made a huge difference. Annie is sleeping through the night again and has been more content this week.
My team members are struggling. Most of them are not losing weight or showing up for the team workouts. Last night it was just me with three trainers. I have decided that no matter what my team members do, I will keep going for my own benefit. Weight loss is a personal journey and being preachy to my team members or allowing them to hold me back will not help anyone.
I am discovering exercises that I like to do. And when I'm not too sore from the previous workout I look forward to hitting the gym each day. Jeremy is still my biggest supporter and cheerleader. I think he misses having more treats in the house. He'll get over it.
At the beginning of this week I was feeling good. After two nights in a row of getting up with Annie and pushing really hard in the gym, I hit a wall of fatigue and frustration. Slightly increasing my calories and staying really on top of my water consumption helped so much. And I gave myself an extra day off from working out to rest my body. All things in moderation. A loss is a loss - or should I say, any loss is still a victory? Hooray for me!

Wicked in Boise

We went to Boise last weekend to see Wicked. Jeremy and I had a blast. We stayed with friends and played games on Friday night. On Saturday we went to the park to feed the geese and ducks. Jeremy watched the girls so I could get in a three mile walk. Then we had a picnic lunch and let Lily play until she was too tired to move. That night we left the girls with our friends the McCashlands and went downtown for a dinner double date and the show. It was an amazing show with fabulous effects and great performers. I told Jeremy that it was my idea of a perfect weekend.

Seven Months!

Our little blue-eyed beauty turned seven months old last week. Here are some pictures to show you what she's up to.




Annie is still refusing bottles but enjoys solid foods and will take sips from a cup. I tried a new baby yogurt which she LOVES. She lets Lily feed her, as long as Lily doesn't shove the spoon too far into her mouth. She is crawling and rolling and trying any other maneuvers she can to get around. She can say "da da" and makes other talking noises. She sleeps through the night (usually). Annie loves to play with toys and read (chew on) books. She cries a lot more than Lily did at this age but she's usually crying about something Lily did to her. Her eyelashes and eyebrows are getting darker. Her eyes are still blue and her hair is changing to the same deep auburn color as Lily's. She always wants to be part of the action and loves to go for rides in the stroller and the car. Annie is also warming up to people again. She is handling being with sitters much better than before. She still doesn't have any teeth, but Mommy doesn't mind since she's still nursing.

Week 2

Second week's weight loss = 3.1 pounds. Total weight lost since April, 9.5 pounds. Wahoo! I was nervous about this weigh-in. We went to Boise for the weekend to see Wicked. I spent too many hours snacking in the car, went to a bar-be-que, missed my Friday session with my trainers, and ate out at a restaurant. I was certain that this week would be a small loss, if I lost anything at all. I was relieved to see that I can live a normal life and still succeed on the scale.

The best advice I've received so far is: "stay within your daily calorie limit." A friend and a cousin who have had tremendous success with weight loss and fitness both told me that. I trust them because I've seen it work for them.

I know the workouts are helping too. I can feel that just after two weeks my body is stronger and more willing to move. My trainers are so helpful. I don't feel sore anymore - Thank goodness!

My hang up is still sugar. I crave it like crazy. I stopped baking to help myself avoid temptation. I'm not even making our bread anymore. I find that the less time I spend in the kitchen, the easier it is to eat only when I'm hungry.

Only two weeks in and I am doing much better than when I first started. Here's to the rest of the journey!

Easter in Washington

Puna asked for a visit from her girls for her birthday this year. We couldn't make it for her actual birthday so we came for Easter instead. The highlight of Lily's trip was riding the lawnmower with Papa. Lily kept calling it a tractor. She asked to ride it every day.

Annie loved all the extra attention. Especially from Brady. She even started pulling herself onto her knees during this trip. She'll be crawling soon.



Lily thought it was such a treat to take baths in Puna and Papa's big tub. She loved all the jets and bubbles.

Lily colored eggs for the first time this year. She loved dropping the eggs in the dye and adding glitter when they were done.

She would also give each egg a little love pat as she set them in the drying rack.


Brady and Mommy had fun filling the eggs for the hunt.

Lily enjoyed her Seattle Easter basket. She also got a delivery from the Easter Bunny in Idaho. The first thing she went for was her new sparkle nail polish.


Her favorite toy was a Donald Duck that sings and dances. When you pick him up by the ears he yells "Put me down!" She laughed about that for days. Mommy was ready to take the batteries out of Donald after the first two hours. Mommy left Donald at Puna's house.



Inspecting the loot from the egg hunt.


Lily's favorite part of Easter dinner...Puna's bunny cake.

Don't bother this girl while she is eating bunny cake!

Two very tired girls waiting for our flight home. It was a nice trip - although we missed Daddy A LOT. Mommy enjoyed singing in the choir at church for Easter. Puna wrote a beautiful program. We are so thankful for our Savior's atoning sacrifice and the healing that comes through its power. We had a wonderful time visiting and can't wait to come back with Daddy in June.

April Catch Up

April was a fun month for our family. I wish I had kept up the blog better. I suppose better late than never. Here is a quick snapshot of our family happenings. Annie turned six months and started sitting up.

Mommy started the Biggest Winner competition which leaves Daddy home every night to get the girls ready for bed. Here they are enjoying story time.

Mommy figured out how to make more pretend make up out of nail polish and old baby food containers. Lily loves her make up and takes the application time very seriously.

Annie has started accepting solid foods and has some definite favorites. We let her start sitting in the high chair to eat. Lily is having trouble with this change in seating assignments. We need to find her a booster seat since she is still a little too short to sit at the table.

Mommy has made exercise a priority and Lily loves the change. She has discovered running. She tries really hard to keep up with other runners on the track. Lily also likes to walk on the treadmill with assistance. This girl loves to be on the move!

Lily's hair finally grew long enough for pig tails. They don't last long, but she will endure the combing and styling and loves bows and clips.

Jeremy took a trip to San Francisco for accounting training. He stayed at a beautiful Embassy Suites. There wasn't a lot of time for sight seeing, but he would like to go back again.

While nursing Annie, Mommy heard Lily working hard in the kitchen. When Mommy came to check on Lily she found the junior chef hard at work wearing some serious head gear trying to cook our vitamins, a sponge, and some salt and pepper in the microwave. Delicious! And who knew that a bike helmet was a necessary kitchen tool?

Lily fell down during a walk and got her first knee boo boo. It was a traumatic experience for her. She still talks about the owie on her knee.

The girls looked so cute that I just had to try and get a sister shot. As you can see, it is difficult to wrangle two active little personalities.

Before bath time one night we styled the girls with faux hawks. Lily thought it was so much fun.

The weather warmed up enough to venture to the city park. 10 minutes after taking this photo we were running to the car to escape some serious hail. It also snowed three times this month.

Papa, Puna, and Brady came to visit us. I didn't get any pictures of the whole family. But this one of Puna and Lily shows how much fun we had while they were here. Lily loves to be with the Wanners. We also spent Easter with them. I'll post those pictures soon.

Mostly we enjoyed having Jeremy home this month. Now that he doesn't have a tax season we spend our Saturdays and weeknights together. It is the first April in about seven years that he has been home this much. We love the increased family time this new job has allowed. We are constantly counting our blessings.

Week 1

In my first official week as a Biggest Winner participant I lost 3.1 pounds. I am excited about my results. This was a difficult week. I was sick, I am still waking during the night to nurse a baby, I had to track my food intake and measure all my portions, and I had to work out every day. By Saturday I felt totally drained and had to force myself into the gym. All the changes and new schedule really wore me down - especially since Annie was wanting to eat two or three times a night. I cried a lot this week. Partly because I was tired and partly because I was mad at myself for getting so overweight and out of shape. I was thankful for a day of rest on Sunday and since it was Mothers' Day Jeremy made sure I got a lot of rest. My trainers have worked me very hard. I even threw up during my Friday workout. My legs and arms hurt, but they feel better as each day passes. The food tracking is going well. I just keep measuring spoons and cups and a food scale within easy reach. My diet has not changed that much. I am just more conscious of how much I am eating and I have stopped my habit of reaching for a snack when I feel tired or bored. It has been humbling to realize how often I turn to food for entertainment and comfort. I've spent a good amount of time this week turning to the Lord to help me overcome my desire for fulfillment through food. Hopefully Week 2 will bring more strength, more resolve, and more weight loss!

Biggest Winner

The recent news in our family is my involvement with a program called "The Biggest Winner". It is a BYU-I sponsored program loosely based on the Biggest Loser t.v. show. I am on a team of 6 people and we are competing against 5 other teams. We earn points for exercise, good eating habits, and our weight loss. The program will run from May 2-July 8. I get the chance to work out with trainers and meet weekly with a nutritionist. All the trainers, nutritionists, and other helpers are student volunteers who are majoring in exercise science, sports medicine, nursing, dietetics, etc. who want to apply what they are learning on real people.

My first workout with the trainers was last night. We did 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill and 30 minutes of strength training. I am so sore today. My legs were shaking when I drove home last night. But it felt so good. I have not exercised in a very long time and I know it will be hard to make this a life-long habit.

Jeremy will be tending the girls while I go workout every day. I am so thankful for his support. Especially since Annie is still nursing and has major mommy-separation issues. The mental and physical break from caring for the children in order to care for myself will be such a blessing. I have never been able to do something like this before. I could not do this without him.

My first official weigh-in was also yesterday. From the day that I filed my application to today I have lost 1 pound. It is a start. Now that I'll be working out, I hope to have bigger numbers. My goal is to lose 20 pounds over the course of the 10 week program.

I will post every Tuesday after my weigh-ins to let you know how I'm doing. And I added a weight loss tracker at the top of the page so you can see my progress toward my ultimate goal.

My ultimate goal is to lose 75 pounds. I know that will take a long time, but I know this 10 week kick start will get me moving in the right direction. Here's to a healthier and happier life!