Fit Mama: Progress Report

I totally had intentions of doing a weekly progress report...but..uh... that didn't happen. #twinlife.

BUT. Here is a progress report as I finished my 8 weeks of Jillian Michaels.

• I have only missed ONE workout and that was due to being sick.
• I have progressed through all of the levels, but I can't do the advanced moves on all of them. 
• I have lost almost 10lbs since I started, bringing my total weight loss to date to 21lbs. 
• Since June I have lost 3 inches from my waist and 2 from my hips. The stubborn muffin top/baby tummy is not budging as much as I would like...but there's progress there too!
• Eating is going well. The only sugar I've been eating is honey or maple syrup and both are used very sparingly. Oh, I also occasionally eat something with turbinado sugar in it.
• I've been able to go running on Saturdays (or Sundays depending on the weather). I'm up to 2.5 miles. I've noticed it's easier to push this time around than it was when I first started running.

What's next? Well, the girl's routine is naturally changing a little so I think I'm going to start hitting Mt. Trashmore with the double BOB running stroller. We shall see! I'm hoping to do some sort of strengthing workout two times a week and to run three times a week. I need to get going on the running because the half I want to do is in March.

 I'm also investigating gym membership options that fit my (small) budget for when it gets too cold to run outside with the babies. I have a while until that's truly an issue, but I'm keeping it on the forefront of my mind. Ideally, I would like to get a Y membership because they have childcare. A less expensive option is Planet Fitness but then I have to figure out what to do with the girls. Anyone local willing to watch them a couple times a week so I can hit the treadmill?

Mama Eats Clean: Super Easy White Chicken Chili

On Sundays our church meets at 5pm so we don't get home until well after 6. Since the girls need to go to bed pretty early, I try to do a crockpot meal for us so there's no cooking when we get home. I like to throw together hearty soups so we also have lunches for a couple days. This one is super simple and came straight from my brain (and inspired by several white chicken chili recipes I've collected over the years).

Super EasyWhite Chicken Chili:

1 16oz jar of green salsa (pick a clean brand. I really like the Whole Foods one).
2 Chicken Breasts (cooked or raw, your choice. I'm paranoid and always pre cook).
2 Cans Cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
1 quart Chicken Broth
1/2 medium onion, diced
shredded cheese for topping

Throw everything in the crockpot and cook on high for 5-6 hours (longer if using raw chicken). I throw the chicken breasts in whole and then break them up after cooking. You could pre shred or cube before cooking if you wanted. When you're ready to eat, serve it up with a smidge of shredded cheese on top. Yum.

12 Months!

My little photo shoots are increasingly more complicated these days. It's so hard to get good pictures of babies who just do not want to sit still! So this time I divided and conquered and did Amelia's on one day and then did Eleanor's the next day. Well I tired to do hers at the same time but I only got one good picture. Warning: this post got really long. Not sorry about that. ;)

Amelia Claire transformed into a toddler on her first birthday. She hardly ever crawls, she's great at throwing fits, she learned how to chuck toys across the room, and she is in constant motion. She's doing so many fun things and is so interactive with us and with Eleanor. The way she interacts with her toys is very toddler like. We've moved beyond just banging stuff around (though that does happen) to putting things inside other things, stacking things, and knocking things over.

We are in the thick of teething. Amelia has two bottom teeth and one top tooth, but basically all of her top teeth are RIGHT there almost through. We had a rough week of not sleeping while the teeth were ridging up a lot. I hope they pop through with no big deal because we do not want more weeks of bad sleep. After her bad week or two she's been sleeping through the night for the most part. She occasionally gets up once. Unfortunately, she also wants to be up for the day at 5 and sometimes 4:30. It's unfortunate because Brad wants to get up to do school work at 4:30 am before work (ick) but he's been thwarted more often than not. So that sucks a lot for him, but I'm glad he takes that one for the team and at least lets me sleep until 6 when he has to leave. Edited: this post literally took me a week to put together. I typed this part about sleep on Tuesday night. Ever since then we have had really bad sleep. Rule 1: never celebrate any sleep victories. ;)

We had our 12 month check up and all is well. Amelia's growth chart is amazing. She's in the sixty something percentile for weight and is basically the same height as Eleanor now. I can't remember the exact percentiles right this second, but the Ped is very pleased with where she's at. She is also not anemic nor has she been exposed to lead, according to the blood work we did. (Side note: People have told me this is weird, but I thought at the 12 month appointment all Peds send kids to the lab to do a CBC and lead test? Did everyone else do this?).  Probably the biggest thing is that we got the OK to switch to whole milk and get off of formula. Yay! Milk is much cheaper than formula. ;) We are slowly switching over, but I'm almost out of formula so it will be soon that we put the cans of formula behind us for good! 

Eleanor Jane is taking steps independently, but isn't walking full time quite yet. Her favorite game to play is peek-a-boo followed by knock down the block tower. She spends a lot of time putting rings on the stacking toy, throwing things, and putting other things inside bigger things.

Eleanor has developed a ton of expressions. She scrunches up her face and makes a little piggy noise sometimes and it's so cute. She smiles a lot and she laughs a lot (usually at Amelia). I give Eleanor a cup of water with meals and sometimes in between but I don't worry about giving her whole milk. She still nurses a lot so I don't think it's necessary at this point. Eleanor wasn't feeling well last week so she didn't eat a whole lot, but since her appetite has returned she eats a lot of things I didn't expect her too. I made some cheesy quinoa last night and she tore into hers like it was the most awesome thing. I don't mind. Quinoa isn't a bad thing for her to like!

The Ped was also pleased with Eleanor's growth at her 12 month check. She's in the fifty something percentile for weight and her growth curve is trucking right along where it should be. We did have to go back last week because Eleanor was having some tummy troubles, but after some probiotics everything is back to normal again.

I just liked this picture. It makes me laugh.

It's been so fun watching them over the last couple weeks go from babies to toddlers. Just the way they play is so different from what they were doing a month ago. Everyone said they would start going in opposite directions, but I haven't found that to be the case. They go everywhere together. They make each other crack up in ways no one else can. They reach out to hold each other's hands at lunch time. They get into things together. It's a very special bond I get to see them form.

Since this is getting very long, here's just a quick blurb about their birthday. We didn't do much, but we did give them cupcakes at community group to celebrate. Amelia ate some of the cake part but wasn't a big fan of the frosting. Eleanor just was not a big fan in general. I'm actually ok with that though. Cake isn't something they need to love. ;) One of the traditions we have started at gift giving occasions (Christmas and Birthdays) is to follow this rule in selecting presents: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. As they get older we probably will do less and less combined gifts but this year we got them a baby einstein music table (what they want) as their big gift. Amelia got "Iggy Peck Architect" as her book and Eleanor got "Rosie Revere, Engineer" as hers. Instead of a card Brad and I both wrote a note in the cover of their books. Each girl got a pair of shoes and a sippy cup (what they wear and what they need). Unfortunately, the style of the sippy cup isn't one they drink from but hey. Whatevs. haha.

Happy Birthday Eleanor and Amelia!

Their 12 month post will be forthcoming. I wanted to take this post and reflect on the last year.  It's been a wild ride! I keep thinking that the days felt.so.darn.long but this year is short. Truly, it felt like just yesterday I was walking around our bedroom in denial that I was in labor while Brad was rushing around and finishing packing the hospital bag. Now, here we are celebrating their first birthday. We've celebrated many milestones, fought through difficult feeding issues, survived on zero sleep, and somehow avoided many major illnesses (knock on wood).

For me, as their mother, in the middle of everything I just felt like I was totally winging it (I was and still am) but I've learned how to comfort them, how to put them to sleep, how to do things that make them laugh. I've enjoyed seeing their different personalities begin to develop and I've loved watching their friendship start. Eleanor and Amelia have totally rocked my world in the absolute best possible way.

This past year has been one of the most difficult years of my life, but it's also been the most rewarding year. I am thankful for our two little miracles and always blown away that we've been entrusted with them. I hope the second year with them is just as amazing as the first!

Fit Mama: Clean Eating

I thought I would share a little more about what I eat. Essentially, I follow Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet. She outlines ten principles that I have tweaked to fit my lifestyle.

Eating Clean for us means no refined or processed foods. No white flour, no boxed food, no pre packaged food, nothing that has ingredients in it I can't pronounce. Exceptions to this are things in the frozen aisle that do not contain preservatives or other chemicals.

Eating Clean also means minimizing sugar, even less processed varieties. In baking I use sugar in the raw or honey. Lately I've been using sugar in the raw because I want to share my baked goods with the babies, who aren't old enough to eat honey yet. I don't use stevia because I don't like the taste. Things that are off limits are splenda, white sugar, and agave all of which are overly processed.

A key aspect for me is to pair protein with carbs. I am trying to limit my simple carbs like bread, but honestly that's the hardest part for me. I have specific health concerns (PCOS) which are better controlled by eating a low carb diet. I don't do anything too crazy, but basically I should be concentrating on complex carbs (read: veggies over fruits). I don't like vegetables and don't like a wide variety of them, but I am trying. I get HUGE sugar and carb cravings. It's really really difficult to not eat toast eight times a day. Theoretically, pairing a protein with a carb keeps your blood sugar from spiking too much which should help curb sugar cravings.

Eating clean means consuming healthy fats. "Low fat" anything is generally filled with sugar to make it taste better. Instead of getting low fat cheese, I get the full fat cheese but stick to a smaller serving. Tosca Reno says to limit dairy anyway, but honestly I have a difficult time doing that. I do buy skim milk and the greek yogurt I buy is generally made from 0% milk, but I focus on brands that do not add extra sugar. I'm loving the Chobani simply 100 lately, but I also really enjoy Siggi's Skyr. I cook almost exclusively with olive oil or coconut oil. I use real butter instead of butter substitute. Other sources of healthy fats are flax seed, nuts, avocado, whole eggs, fish (which I don't eat because I don't like it), and seeds (like pumpkin seeds). I know that dairy is kind of controversial these days. If I had the money I would likely buy organic dairy, but my budget doesn't allow for that. I also get freaked out by raw milk so that's a no go for me.

All this to say, I also allow some cheats here and there. I do believe eating clean has lots and lots of benefits, but drinking a pumpkin spice latte is not going to ruin all of my efforts. I just can't have treats all of the time. Treats should be just that-- occasional things I eat in small portions to enjoy.

I'll definitely be sharing some of my favorite recipes with you. I've read a couple of other eating clean blogs and I was struck by one who said that we need to get over eating for pleasure. I disagree. I should enjoy eating. Food shouldn't be boring or bland because it's healthy. There is nothing wrong with enjoying eating-- it's all about making healthy, cleaner choices. As always, feel free to ask questions because I like talking about this stuff!

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram! I'll be sharing about this journey using #fitmama and #mamaeatsclean. Tag me in your posts so I can keep up with your journey too!

Fit Mama: Health and Goals

As you have heard me talk about a little bit before one of the hardest things for me post partum has been dealing with my weight gain. I've struggled with my weight off and on my whole life-- only in the last couple of years (pre pregnancy) would I say I really got a handle on it.

During my pregnancy I gained over 80(!) pounds. I don't even know exact numbers because I stopped having the nurses tell me. I didn't really lose much at all coming home from the hospital-- in fact I gained 20lbs over the course of first 9 months with the girls. In April I started cleaning up my diet again and have lost 15 lbs...and have camped out there since the end of July.

I am a HUGE stress/emotional eater. Give me chocolate and ice cream if I'm feeling crappy. Unfortunately those "treats" became the norm as I was dealing adjusting to twin life, dealing with sleep deprivation, and just the feelings of being isolated and alone.

I don't like the way I feel at this weight. More importantly, I don't like how I feel out of breath carrying the girls up the stairs and how I have weird aches and pains due to inactivity and extra weight. My goal isn't to be the same weight I was before the girls. I honestly don't think that's even feasible because I do not have the time to invest in running like I did before. My goal is to take off 50 lbs and to run a half marathon in March. I'll be blogging here and there about it over the course of the next several months. It's going to take hard work and dedication, as my favorite tv trainer says. More than the number on the scale, I want to be healthy again.

So as of last Monday,  I'm starting to eat clean foods again-- limited sugar, no processed foods, and basically nothing artificial. No expensive shakes or weird supplements. Just lean and clean. I've started working out again too! I'm doing a mash up of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and Ripped in 30. Last week I did level 1 of 30 Day Shred and this week I'm working on level 1 of Ripped in 30. Next week I'll jump to level two 30 Day Shred and then of Ripped in 30. I'm hoping it'll give me a baseline of fitness before I start running again.

Follow me on instagram (ZilYdal!) I'm sharing about this journey using #fitmama and #mamaeatsclean. Please join me! If you tag me I'll be sure to see it!

11 Months

 Whew! Another month down! I feel like time is going so fast at this point. Since this post is a little late, it's really only three weeks until their first birthday. Wow! Everyone says it gets easier after the first year, we will see!

Still not really sleeping over here. In fact, I'd say sleep is getting worse by simple fact that Amelia has taken to not sleeping well either. I basically haven't slept well in over a year. I'm not even hoping for babies to sleep all night-- I'm just hoping they start only waking once during the night. I will love that when that happens! Naps are total busts. We tried the one nap thing and that was not working at all so we went back to two naps.

Eleanor still only has two teeth. The top ones aren't making any appearances yet. They do make it easier for her to bite off chunks of her food, and that's always entertaining to watch. Her favorite foods are peanut butter toast, squash cubes, melon cubes, banana slices, and zucchini bread. Least favorite foods that get fed to the dog are: peas, green beans, cheese, and avocado. Oh and nursing.

Eleanor is also starting to walk if you hold her hands or she's pushing one of her push toys. She still hasn't made any attempts to step away with out holding on to something, but she does stand unassisted for 10-20 seconds at a time. She'll be walking soon, I just know it!

Overall, Eleanor has just kind of exploded over the last month developmentally. I'm sure I'm forgetting things too. I showed her how to clap and she just did it and hasn't stopped since. Before she would sign milk if I signed it to her, but now she will crawl to me and sign it when she wants to nurse. It's really cute.

Watching Eleanor play is always fun too. She's started stacking smaller toys in big toys, uses toys to make noises, is very interested in standing and cruising furniture. She likes to play with Amelia, but often finds that Amelia wants to wrestle which is not Eleanor's favorite activity.  My favorite thing is when they start cracking each other up. It is the BEST.

Amelia also has two teeth! Her second tooth took awhile to come in but it finally made an appearance last week. I think her top teeth are on their way too because her gums seem a little swollen. She is a very good eater-- basically will eat anything I put in front of her if she's hungry. Her favorites are cheese, melon, peanut butter toast, yogurt, and banana slices.

We also discovered that Amelia loves the pool. We finally took the girls swimming two weeks ago and Amelia just went crazy in the water. Splashing and laughing and kicking. Seriously, I have never seen her so happy before! Eleanor liked it too, but seemed less enthusiastic about the whole experience. The second time we went she had more fun, I think.

 Amelia is almost walking! One night she stepped away from the coffee table and took three steps. She was upset when she did it and she hasn't repeated it since...but I know she will soon! I'm guessing she'll be walking by her birthday.

 Amelia LOVES to play with Eleanor, specifically, she likes to climb all over her. She generally laughs hysterically when they're playing together. It's so funny to watch them interact. Usually Eleanor does something and Amelia just finds it positively HILARIOUS. Those are the moments that are the best. Even if there isn't a lot of sleep there sure is a lot of laughter.

Until today, I was still pumping three times a day for Amelia to get enough milk to give her two bottles per day (so half of her day time feedings). I decided to stop pumping because it was just becoming too much. The girls are more demanding in the sense that I need to feed them three meals a day of solids, I'm nursing Eleanor, I have more messes to clean up because they are into EVERYTHING... but probably the most important reason is because I needed more time to just to take care of me. Pumping for 20-30 minutes at a time was a major reason I felt trapped. I couldn't go anywhere because I needed to pump. I never had time to work out because I needed to pump. I couldn't keep the house clean because I was spending my free time pumping. I pretty much agonized over the decision for a couple weeks before I just stopped today. It's really the best decision to make me a better mommy. I was able to work out today-- I did something just for ME. It was a MAJOR pick me up and just what I needed after a very very difficult weekend.