I'm back....................maybe

Many, many new developments in the last two years.  Well, in the last month.  More to come if I have time this week...........Think Bright Lines..........................

Failure........and Success

So....I haven't had a green smoothie in almost two weeks. And sugar!..... I should just NEVER bake anything. Or have ice cream in the house. I can say no and turn down EVERYTHING else.  Epic failure........HOWEVER!......the salad thing is going real well and eating more legumes and beans and less meat going better.

Two steps forward, one step back....... that's still progress.

Exercise

I exercised again this morning for the first time since the beginning of my third trimester. Its amazing how much thinner I feel just because I exercise. It's like I see myself differently in the mirror. (Maybe it's because I wear black?)

We (my exercise buddie, Cynthia, and I) went up the canyon and speed walked a trail and back up the mountain. The last half was all up hill. I'll be feeling it.

Cynthia and her daughter made a goal to run a half marathon next September. She challenged me to do it with them and I accepted. Although I would like to run a half sooner.....we'll see.

Presently, I'm feeling really motivated to get a grip on nutrition and exercise.......yesterday I swore off refined sugar again (after feeling guilty about the cookies for breakfast....). Except for special occasions. I need to define "special occasions" though. Not family get togethers- there are too many of those. Maybe I could bake one Sunday a month whatever I like and than "unrefined" treats the other Sundays? I hesitate to give myself any leeway considering Sunday I ate about 10 of the cookies I made (truly, the food snob in me thought they were divine. Browned butter and molasses chocolate chip cookies? Who could go wrong with the browned butter? Heaven!) And than 4 for breakfast yesterday ironically with my green smoothie....*sigh* its a problem I really struggle with. It really is an addiction. They say you must completely remove the addiction. If it were alcohol or drugs I would completely remove it right? What's the difference? And yet, I still feel I should have liberty to "cheat" every so often. The fact is that it's NOT drugs or alcohol.......justification.........but it will still do bad things toy body! *sigh* a true struggle.

And here I go out on a limb-Exposing myself to the world.......this is me. I tried to make the photos as ugly as possible so when I drop a few pounds I can make them as beautiful as possible ;). I have to admit I was hoping the black would help me out a little. Nope. This is me. In all my postpartum but almost-back-to-normal state. Ugh.

I have to post this other photo so ya'll know I'm not always frumpy old woman.......

Oh- and a few updates: 

• Baby GIRL was born emergency c-section at 9.5 pounds (or did I already say that in a previous post?) Guess the sugar did nothing to contribute to the baby's weight and 
• MY eczema literally DISAPPEARED after I had been rolled into my recovery room following the c-section. Must have been a pregnancy thing
• Green smoothies going GREAT!!!!!
• And have I showed you this?:
  

All natural whole wheat sourdough bread!  And it is sooooo yummy!  I have to be careful! I'm not a bread person but I could eat a whole loaf of this stuff!

Blah.

I should never had had sugar again.........................

However, the green smoothies are going real well.  Had some I didn't like.  Had some I LOVED. My husband has only missed a few days as well............!

Green Smoothie Challenge

Unbelievably my husband agreed to the Green Smoothie Challenge from this website:
 http://simplegreensmoothies.com/30-day-challenge

I'm completely amazed that he agreed- with the condition that I will get up with him every morning and make it.  Done!

I personally needed something to get me going again and this was it.  We did real well this week until yesterday.  He left early and I didn't want to make it with leftovers (I personally don't like the leftovers a day or hours later) and today was fast Sunday (Something our religion does on the first Sunday of every month.)........which was a lame excuse being that I only fasted one meal.  I kept saying I would make a smoothie for a snack but I didn't. HOWEVER, I made this FABULOUS dinner (It's one of my favorites) with mostly zucchini noodles:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/07/zucchini-ribbon-pasta-with-light-creamy-lemon-basil-sauce/

YUM!  That counts as greens. Sort of...................

Looking forward to the challenge this week and.................I'm 8 weeks postpartum so I am determined to start exercising again this week.  YAY! Maybe start out with some yoga however, I want to run again...................

Later days.................

Blah.

Had a baby. Lost motivation. Hungry all. The. Time! ( yes I'm nursing).  My meals are still healthy just not eating enough greens. Starting a green smoothie challenge next week. Ugh. Postpartum bites sometimes. The good news is that I'm fitting into my old pants seven weeks out. Snug. But nevertheless fitting. This has never happened before. Ever.

I'm tired

I'm tired and I would really like my energy back. 4 weeks and hopefully sooner.  Really.  I don't want to cook or hardly do anything.  By the time I get kids off to school and the kitchen cleaned I am completely spent.  When lunch and dinner come around it is rare that I feel I have enough energy to cook something.  And it is becoming a very bad thing for my family and my progress in this goal.  Ugh.

Tonight was one of those nights I did have energy though.  I made pink quesadillas.  I thought them quite delicious!  The rest of the family not so much.  My husband thought they were OK. One of those things I am happy to have the leftovers.

Still struggling with salads and green smoothies.  Go figure.  They should be the easiest thing. Every morning I get up and vow I will drink a smoothie for breakfast.  Time gets away from me and it's just easier to do something else. Like granola. or a whole wheat pumpkin muffin.  I told my kids earlier this year that if they stopped eating cold cereal I would cook for them eggs or pancakes in the morning.  They requested pumpkin muffins last week and I used coconut sugar and whole wheat.  Today I halved the sugar and they were still tasty!  The kids had no idea. I'm also making a lot of crepes and pancakes.  Sometimes eggs. They still insist on lemon juice and brown sugar for the crepes and chocolate chips for the pancakes but I make them be conservative and the whole wheat thing is still a step in the right direction. Right?  We also tried "German" pancakes this week with whole wheat flour.  Um. Yum!  I like them BETTER than the standard white!  I was quite surprised.  And they still, surprisingly, puffed up in the oven.

So- I still have a ways to go with my goals but I AM trying. The sugar thing is real easy now.  Not even a temptation.  Do I have a sweet tooth still? yes.  and no.  It depends.  But I really don't care for nor no longer lack the courage to say no to refined sugar stuff.   I feel like the pregnancy is finally at a point where it is truly impeding me but it is ALMOST over!!!! Yay!  I continue to try real hard with the salads and smoothies......