Molly’s BodyBlog

I got some great responses that reassured me that hardwork will pay off but I need to be patient. "It’s a marathon, not a sprint" is so true.

It’s really great to know I have a resource here that people with tons of experience can help me put things into perspective. I really appreciate that people are not judgemental and many want to help each other. That’s pretty great! It helps to have support!

I had my body fat testing done today and it went up from 26.1 to 26.4. Not alot but I’ve been working so hard and expected a decrease. My weight went down 4lbs… Hmmm. So after talking to the guy who did the testing he told me to look at my nutrition to make any needed changes and drink more water. Hopefully this will help me see progress next month. Progress pictures are Monday.

So this is the week that I take my monthly measurements to see if there’s been any progress. I’m doing that Friday. I think my progress pictures a couple of weeks ago showed a tiny bit of progress but I don’t know. My weight hasn’t gone down much but I’ve been able to tell some difference in how my clothes fit.

A few things have happened in the past couple of weeks that have put things into perspective for me.

First of all, on the 4th of July an acquaintance of mine was in an accident that a bomb was set off for the 4th and she was hit by shrapnel in the abdomen and leg. She’s in the hospital still and will be there for at least another month. So, it really made me think about how I should not take for granted the fact that I’m ABLE to work out… that my body is healthy and strong… that I have full use of every part of my body with no disabilities or limitations. It seems strange to have that AHA! moment but to me it’s something that is so easily taken for granted.

The second thing, I was in a dressing room recently and overheard a conversation between a mother and a daughter… at the time I had no idea how old the daughter was or in what type of shape the mother was who was talking. Basically, the conversation went something like this… mom said "oh honey those pants make your butt look alot smaller… and that’s important. When you grow up you want to hide all the parts that aren’t flattering, especially when you have a big booty like mine". Ok, so they walk out and the little girl was like 5 YEARS OLD!! I mean, come on. I understand the mom’s point but what are we teaching our daughters…? Don’t be proud of your body if it has flaws? Don’t accept yourself the way you are? I’m sorry, but that’s not the way I want to raise my daughter. It’s SO important to me to be a role model that says "love yourself, accept yourself, always strive to be the best you can be but know that NO BODY is perfect"

Well, once in awhile I really believe we are put in situations that help us to have those AHA! moments that teach us and remind us of our goals and dreams. Moments that put things into perspective.

Well, tomorrow I plan to post new pictures because it’s been a month. I’m going to post new pictures around the 8th of every month because that’s the day the babies were born. They will be 6 mos old tomorrow. It’s also the day that I got married (April 8, 2006) so I guess it’s a significant day for me. I’m hoping that I made some progress this month but I’m nervous that I won’t look any better. I need to be patient but it’s hard. I know it’s going to take alot longer than 1 month of hard work. I set all my goals to be reached by my birthday, November 13, but maybe I should stick with the 8th! It could be my lucky number!

Anyway, more later.

I have changed my nutrition so much in the past few weeks. I’ve really reduced my sugar intake…. I mean, I was so completely addicted that it was rediculous and totally sabotaging any progress I’d make with exercise. My whole diet consisted of breads, refined sugar, fruit and occasional meat and vegetable. Not nearly enough protein and WAY too many Starbucks mochas. It was all going straight to my belly. I’ve been able to tell a huge difference in how I feel since I’ve changed the way I’m looking at my meals. I have a lot more energy and feel full alot longer throughout the day. I’m more focused on protein and learning to love eggs! Egg white scrambles are my morning meal and I change it up so much that it hasn’t gotten boring. Low fat cottage cheese is a staple too. I know tuna is good so I’ll be eating more of that this week. I tried the Ezekial bread to satisfy my need for bread and it’s been just fine. I eat more often too. I try to eat 5-6 times a day. Small meals but it’s helped me to not feel hungry. AND NO MORE CANDY!! I’m doing well with cutting out sugar considering how addicted I am to it. Overall, I just feel really good about the changes I’ve made so far and I’m hoping it will pay off.

I wanted to get my body fat measured to have another way to gauge my progress. My gym only does caliper testing so I ended up getting that done last night. Now, before I say my results I have to say a few things… first of all, the personal trainer there told me to get it done at a health food store in town because the guy does a ultrasound test and gives not only the body fat % but lean body mass and fat in pounds. So I have been trying to get in touch with him and he hadn’t returned my calls. So last night I was getting impatient and decided to just go for the calipers thinking they’re are probably pretty accurate anyway. After I got my results of a whopping 38.8% I almost threw up or cried or something! Total panic attack. GROSS, I thought. When I was in college my percentage was 18%. Ya, that was probably about 13 years and 3 kids ago but STILL. How could I have gone up that much?! So, wanting to get another "opinion" I tried to reach the guy at the nutrition store again this morning and he was there!! Thank God. But I kept thinking, what if it is the same? What if that really is true? So he does the test and it comes back as 26.1% with 113lb lean and 40lb fat. Still not good but not nearly as bad as the caliper testing. I decided to go with this number as my starting point.

 I’ve also been working on eating a higher protein diet. I can already tell a difference in how I feel and my energy. This is the run down for yesterday… if anyone has any input, feel free to comment.

Meals:

1. 4 egg white scramble, 3oz lean ham, veggies, 1sl. ezekiel bread
2. South Beach Diet bar
3. 5oz lean turkey, lettuce, tomatoe, string cheese
4. 1c. cottage cheese, pineapple
5. Kashi granola bar
6. 1/2 sandwich, 1sl ezekial bread, turkey, lettuce, tomato, 1 tbsp dijon mustard

Supplements: Multi vitamin, Mega Complex, Lipo 6 Hers fat loss supplement

Workout: Ran 2 miles (21:50… slow but my fastest since the babies were born),       Upper body weight training

The day overall was good. I’ve cut out SO much sugar from my normal day. And I had alot more energy. I’m trying the Lipo 6 just to jump start my fat loss but I want to get off of it as soon as possible. I’d rather get this done without relying on anything like that.

My goals this week are to:

1. Get down to 149lb.
2. Workout at least 3x (we’re out of town Th-Sun so I’m going to try to at least get some cardio in).
3. Stick with the hi protein diet.