Exercise, food and breastmilk....

I have been thinking about ditching Contours as it has no childcare but have decided to keep it- not because I have worked out a good childcare solution, but because it is going to cost me over 400 bucks to get out of my contract and they do not offer membership transfers.. :(

I have asked around and so far I can get my sis in law and mum in law to look after Molly- so that's 2 possibly 3 days covered... I just need to get myself organised and we should be ok.

This week has been good- I haven't been focussing on weights much as I have been waiting to get this gym stuff sorted but have been for 3 2 hour long pram-pushing, hill-climbing/descending walks. One of the mums from mums group lives near by and is trying to lose some weight too so we push each other to go a bit further and a bit faster.. My glutes are really sore! Ya!

My eating is still not 100% but I'm feeling good and my milk supply is getting better. I am taking fenugreek capsules to try and boost my supply a little so I can express- gee they smell!

Tomorrow I am going to have a nice clean eating day as follows:
B. Oats and some yummy scrambled eggs
S. 1 apple and 2 corn thins with vegemite
L. 1 tin salmon, salad, 1/2 avocado and a super grainy roll
S. Aussie bodies rtd protein shake, veg sticks tatziki dip
D. Chicken with stir fry veggies

I am going to an afternoon tea party thing at a friends house and for the first time in ages I am going to say NO to all the junk that will be on offer and will eat my veg sticks and yoghurt dip while I'm there.

Wish me luck!!

Ash
xox

Salads 4 and 5! Yummo!!

Salad 4

Chicken, broccoli and couscous

Marinated the chicken in Hoisin sauce prior to cooking... doesn't look as nice as the other salads but it was yummy!

Salad 5

Good old tabbouli salad

Served this one with teriaki chicken skewers... hmm going to have to eat some other meat at some point!

The Bloggest Loser task of the week to get up early and exercise is going well. Yesterday I woke Molly at 6am, fed her, dressed us both and we were out the door by 7 for an hour long walk. I forgot what it felt like to be outside as the sun is rising. I love it. The crispness of the air as it gently blows across the little beads of sweat on my nose and cheeks is so revitalising. I worked myself as hard as I could handle, powering up hills pushing my little girl and feeling fitter than I thought I would.

I couldn't help but think what I good habit I am going to instill in Molly. By the time she is old enough to realise what is going on going for walks will just be a part of life. I would like walking and exercise to become so unremarkable and routine that it would feel weird for us NOT to do it- not the other way around.

This morning was a little bit trickier as Molly uncharacteristically woke at 4:30 instead of 6. I had so much trouble deciding whether to take my butt out for an early early early morning walk and be tired for the rest of the day (no time for a nanna nap today) or schedule in a walk in the afternoon. We did the latter and boy am I glad I got the extra sleep as I had a rather busy day. Our walk this afternoon was great. I stripped down to my singlet (let all the lumps and bumps be seen) as the sun was shining and I didn't really care who saw me. I had to pick John up from work at 5:30 so an hour and a half before that I drove to the carpark in the school he works at, loaded Molly into the pram and took off on an hour long walk winding our way around unfamilliar streets, looking at all of the different houses and gardens... You certainly miss a lot when you drive everywhere! It was glorious to spend time in the fresh air once again!

Thinking about what I'd like "normal" to be like for Molly I remembered something I posted on the Healthy Body Club forum the other day in response to a post about crash dieting and starvation. I thought I'd post it here too for your entertainment!

"I have tried so many different diets over the years and each one ended with me feeling miserable, tired, hungry and putting on all the weight I managed to lose plus some more once the "diet" was over. When I was on a diet all I could think about was the end, when I finally got to eat like a normal person again.My problem was that many of the people around me did not have "normal" eating habits- well not how "normal" should be anyway. It was normal for all of my primary school buddies to feast on chips and chocolate at recess and drink poppers of fruit drink laden with simple sugars.

We need to redefine "normal" for the sake of the next generation.

Also, I feel that we lovely ladies don't celebrate the awesomeness (is that a word??!) of womanhood nearly as much as we should. If we stood back once in a while and examined how clever our bodies are I feel we would wind up respecting ourselves a lot more. I have just had a baby and am still dumbfounded at what an amazing thing my body has done! I feel strong, proud, womanly and POWERFUL!

Respect for ones self does not begin with a fancy pill, potion or diet shake- it wont even come from losing weight the slow and steady healthy way. True self respect must come from a much deeper place. It's not always easy to find this place, but with hard work and perseverance it is truly breathtaking!

Hope you are all feeling womanly today.... unless you are a bloke, I which case I hope you're feeling manly *lol*!!!

Ash
xox

PS. Have decided today that I do not know nearly enough of you so would like to set myself a goal of meeting 20 new bloggers in 2007. Drop me a line if you're in Melb and would like to meet! I'll also be in Adelaide in May.

7 salads in 7 days...

This is my new challenge for this week. I am going to make a different delicious and healthy salad each night and post a picture here- just for a bit of variety. I already started tonight by making my own version of the salad Kate mentioned on her blog.I'm sure it is very different to the one you had Kate but it sure was delicious!

A yummy spicy Thai chicken salad made with lean chicken mince, red onion, coriander, bean shoots, lime, lemon, chilli, ginger and soy sauce, served on a bed of cos lettuce with a tomato cut into wedges. YUM!! I am definately making this one again some time!!

I had a fab time last night at Brooke's get together. Linda, Phil, Ails, Jadey, Sassy, Brooke and I got together to relax and spend some quality time together. I took Molly along to meet all her pretend aunties and she was a perfect angel! The girls all indulged in Jelly shots and pizza and watched chick flick DVDs.. ahhh.. heaven! I really enjoyed finally meeting Sassy. We had been planning to meet a little while ago (pre Molly) but never managed to get our butts into gear. We had a lot in common and chatted away like monkeys in trees.. hehe.. I like that saying! See Brooke's (in my sidebar) post for a more detailed description and some photos.

I have stolen this pic from Brooke's site as I think it is BEAUTIFUL! Isn't Brooke a talented little shutterbug? I haven't liked the way I have looked in many photos recently but I feel that this one really shows the joy I have in motherhood. My eyes are genuinely happy. That is really how I feel right now. I adore my girl and my life. I am happy with my body for the first time ever. It's like I have accepted it with all its flaws because I was able to watch it perform one of the greatest tasks ever- making another human being!! I am totally blown away by the power of the female body. What an amazing, spiritual thing it is to be a woman!

I am really excited to be feeling so good. John and I got out for another walk yesterday and I am feeling very ready to get back into proper exercise. I don't want to be silly and go too hard too soon but I am just really looking forward to feeling fit again. I think I will to couch to 5k as soon as I feel up to running. There is a Healthy Body Club booty camp in March which I plan to do and am VERY excited about!

Molly is getting such a strong little neck now and smiling all the time. I can't believe how fast she's growing and becoming more aware of what is going on around her! Here are some more cute photos of her doing her exercises during tummy time this morning.

I have never known love like this!

That will do from me tonight... I am sleepy!

Ash

xox

Wow.... Huh??

WOW...

As many of you would know, Saturday is my weigh-in day. Now, I was particularly keen to jump on the scales this morning as I have had such an awesome week filling my body up with sensible portions of fresh and healthy food- hitting 32 points or just below each day. I feel absolutely fantastic! I have been sleeping very well and did my 1st intentional exercise since having Molly yesterday with Kate (a big walk to the "big shops"... had a fantastic time Kate!). I have consumed at least 2 litres of water every day and am really proud of what we've done. I have not had one "treat" thus proving to myself that I don't need to have a little bit of something off the plan every day... only sometimes! I have been the goddess of the Weight Watchers world!! The QUEEN!! I ROCK!!

HUH??...

Now here's where the "huh??" comes in. I was so excited to feed Molly, go to the toilet, strip off (hey... my undies are heavy!!) and jump on the scales, expecting to see a big loss after the killer week I have just had. 96.2kgs... 96.2kgs!! WHAT?? Thats a GAIN of 700g!! Undoing the 600g I lost last week plus another 100!! Would someone please tell me what the heck is going on?? I wish I had've taken notice of the body fat percentage as it may explain something. I have not done any resistance apart from lifting Molly and pushing the pram so I doubt it would be muscle... I'm stumped!

Kate mentioned in her blog about our lovely day together yesterday. I arrived at her house at 9:30 and we chatted till 10:30 when we loaded up the prams and headed out for a walk. It was such a gorgeous sunny day with a cool breeze- perfect for walking. We stopped for a drink and some fruit at the 1/2 way point and grabbed a yummy sushi lunch 3/4s of the way home. I got a bit sunburnt- I have spent the majority of the last few months indoors.. didn't really feel like baring my swolen pregnant self at the beach this summer!!

Our lunch was delish! I am completely addicted to california rolls. It's not like I never ate them before this week but I have rediscovered those tasty little fellas on this fresh food challenge. Kate and I spent the rest of the afternoon half watching Scrubs (gotta get me some of those DVDs!) while we chatted and looked at her before pics. That girl has come a LONG way my friends! Nag her to find her scanner so she can post the pics!!

Now, of the three things I said I was going to do this week I have only done one... hmm disciplined huh?? I did manage to get my butt into gear enough to make up my own muesli which is delish! I thrw together some rolled oats, sultanas, peanuts, coconut, almonds, dried pawpaw and pineapple, prunes, dried apricots and lsa. It was sooo yummy! I grated a big green apple onto it and it was magic!

I did not make bread or peanut butter although I have all the ingredients there ready to go so I WILL do them over the next couple of days.. Phil, I might take you up on the breadmaker offer! *lol*

Next week I aim to walk three times. Our challenge has officially ended but we have started some really good new habits (or should I say, we have retured to our old good habits) so we will continue to eat this way as much as possible with a bit more flexibility.

That will do from me for now...

Hope you all have lovely weekends!

(Note: Since writing this post I have recieved a couple of comments about how many pts I should be having- saying 32 pts might be too much for me.. Just for the record, I have been following the WW points system for 4 years and it has worked so far- It got me to goal! WW recommends 32 pts for breastfeeding mums feeding as frequently as I do no matter their weight so I I feel like this has been a good amount for me... by the way.. just hopped back on the scales remembering my memory function and discovered I have lost 1% body fat this week.
So 32 pts looks about right.)

Ash
xox

Lookie what we got yesterday?!

*Note- for some reason I have not been able to do paragraphs so I apologise for the big block of writing... I HATE reading blogs like that!!*

Thanks to Catie for posting this gorgeous t-shirt for Molly!!

It was so exciting pulling it out of the post pack realising what it was. Catie bought one for her daughter Joss a little while ago and I commented that I loved it... a month or so later, one arrives in the mail!! Thanks sooo much Catie! It was such an unexpected and special surprise! Molly is going to look like such a little spunky dudette when she grows into it... my Nan's going to hate it! *lol*

Catie, if you're reading this- I can't access your blog. Can you please add me to your invited readers list as I'm dying to see what you've been up to.

John went back to work today... well, for an hour and then he was home again as there was nothing for him to do today... Hoorah! Extended holidays!

We went to Eastland this afternoon and had a yummy lunch- I had a moroccan couscous and chicken salad... mmm! John had sushi hand rolls and we shared a freshly squeezed apple, carrot, celery, ginger and beetroot juice. While at eastland I bought a new long black cardigan and a v-neck grey 3/4 sleeve tee. I LOVE the cardy as I have been looking for one like this for ages. It's a thin knit and goes with just about everything I own.

We had to eat slightly off plan for dinner tonight. Our housemate cooked spaghetti bolognaise for us today. If he was just any old housemate we would have told him what we were doing with our challenge and frozen our portions to have next week. But our housemate has a disability and cooked dinner with the help of his carer today. It wouldn't have been fair to not eat what he had spent time and a lot of effort preparing. Apart from that though, food has been great. Both John and I are finding it really easy to stick to the plan. It's really strange that we can all of a sudden have no trouble resisting temptation just because we both agreed to give it our all for a week. Life isn't any different from how it was last week however it is like a switch has been flicked and all of a sudden it's easy! We both feel so fabulous for doing something really good for ourselves.

I am going to get out for a walk tomorrow. It will be the first time since Molly's birth that I have gone out to do intentional exercise. I have done a lot of incidental exercise walking around different shopping centres for hours on end but this will be a great "1st" to accomplish.

I heard an interesting piece of conversation today. Two girls, about 20 years of age, were walking and chatting in Eastland. One looks at a very obese little girl walking by and says to her friend "Look at that girl!" to which the other replies "Yeah, it's so sad- look at her dad... it must be genetic". I found this really interesting. That "genetics" is the first thing to be blamed. Hmmm... call me mean but me thinks it may not be genetic. Very rarely are weight problems genetic. Families often have a "big frame" that is passed on but that doesn't mean a healthy weight cannot be achieved. I used to think that I was "genetically fat" as all of my family are overweight. It couldn't possibly have been the fact that we all loved consuming copious amounts of rich food at every meal and greazy, crunchy, fat filled foods for snacks, or the fact that instead of playing out in the fresh air we spent our time playing Super Mario on the couch...

No way... it must be genetic!

Today's Foodies:

B. 2 slices burgen toast with ham tomato and low fat cheese (5)

S. 1 apple, 1 nectarine (1.5)

L. Moroccan chicken salad, 1/2 a regular fresh juice (7)

S. Skinny decaf latte, some red grapes and a nectarine (2.5)

D. Spaghetti bolognaise(6)

S. Natural yoghurt with 1 tbs honey and a small banana (2.5)

Total: 24.5

H20: 2.5 litres

Will have a bit more food this evening.. maybe some air popped popcorn

Day 1 of the fresh food challenge a success!

Yay! What a great day! Had no trouble eating to plan today! Feels GOOD!

Decided to allow grainy bread in this fresh food challenge as I need the carbs and was having trouble eating enough points! I know it's a "packaged food" but if I keep to grainy Burgen bread I think it's ok. Also having low fat cheese and low fat yoghurt.

Today looked like this...
B. (pre-supermarket, thus pre-challenge) 1 slice grainy toast with peanut butter, 1 banana (4)
L. Wholegrain sandwich with ham, cheese and tomato (4)
D. Roast beef (just used a little olive oil), 1 med potato, pumpkin, asparigus, broccoli and corn (6). And for sweets some low fat yoghurt and 1/2 a banana (2.5)
Snacks. 1 handful of raw mixed nuts and seeds and 2 peaches (3)
Total: 19.5

Ok... better go eat some more- It's gonna be hard making up 32 points with all this fresh low point stuff!!

Ash
xox

Weigh in...

I cannot believe I acutally managed to LOSE weight this week!!

Last week: 96.1
This week: 95.5!!

Yay!! I must be doing something right!!

John and I have decided to set a challenge for ourselves this week. As of this afternoon (when I can get out to the supermarket and fruit shop) we are starting the "fresh food challenge". We have set some rules for this challenge as follows:

1. No pre-packaged or processed foods
2. All meals prepared at home must be made from scratch with fresh ingredients
3. Whilst out and about the rules still apply
4. Must drink at LEAST 2 litres of water per day
5. Must have protein (meat or legume) with 2 meals per day
6. No caffeine

I am so excited about this as I know how bloody AWESOME I'll feel by next Saturday! I will have set myself a goal and achieved it and that will feel so GREAT!

Let me know if you would like to join us on this challenge!

Ash
xox

Yummy dinner...

I just demolished the yummiest, easiest meal!

I really felt like some roast veggies as the weather finally allows for it (praise the Lord!!) so I bought a couple of washed spuds, some pumpkin, carrots, lovely fresh asparigus, zuchini and a couple of chicken breasts. All I did was pour a jar of tomato and herb pasta sauce over the chicken, threw the roastable veggies in a baking dish with a bit of olive oil and baked the lot for about 35 mins... I blanched the asparigus, chucked it all on plates and voila! An EASY and delicious meal for 2!!

Do try it!

I have had a great, restful weekend! John and I spent last night at my mum's watching funniest home videos (it's turned into a ritual for my family) and eating the scrummy prawns, oysters and whiting she cooked for dinner. We had such a nice time that we stayed till 1am! It was the latest we've been out since Molly's been in the world! I'm a bit tired today but not too phased as the next few days will be quiet and I'll be able to grab a nap here and there where I need it.

Poor little Molly woke up with conjunctivitis this morning! It got bad so quickly that we decided to take her to the doctor. She was prescribed some drops which we've been putting in every hour and it seems to be clearing up already. The poor little thing looked so cute and helpless with her bleary, puffy, sticky eyes. I nearly cried every time she looked up at me- it was as if she were saying "fix me!".

I am feeling so "in the zone" food wise at the moment. I feel really in control! I am actually making decisions around whether or not I eat food that is not good for me rather than mindlessly shovelling it in! Today I enjoyed a mince pie and a small piece of cake at my mother-in-law's and said "no thanks" when I was offered more than I could afford point wise. I was explaining to my friend today that I used to need to leave the room if there was junk food in it. I couldn't control myself and had to remove myself completely from the situation if I wanted to avoid a binge... Oh how things have changed! My relationship with food is totally different. I still LOVE my food- which is a great thing as, just as sex is designed for pleasure as well as to perform the important job of reproducing the human race, food is meant to taste good and thus be enjoyed... if not, we wouldn't have been given taste buds!! That said, I am no longer controlled by my urges and that is a turely liberating experience!

I weighed myself yesterday. Last week I was 96.7kgs... This Saturday- 96.1! So a loss of 600g! Not bad for my 1st week back. Apparently I'm not supposed to lose more than 500g per week or I could compromise my milk supply.. This means I need to really focus this week on ensuring I eat up all my points. It's really hard to do without eating junky food. So I will try to have a few more healthy but higher point food items like nuts and seeds this week.

Todays Foodies
B. Muesli with skim milk and one slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter (6)
L. 1 frankfurt (skin off) (4) 1/2 cup rice (1.5), 1 slice wholemeal bread (1) and salad (0)
D. Medium chicken breast (4) baked in tomato and herb pasta sauce (0) with pumpkin (.5), potato (1.5), asparigus, carrot and zuchini (0) cooked in olive oil (1)
Snacks. 1 mince pie (4), 1 small piece sticky date cake (2), 2 mugs of ovaltine light break (2)

Total: 26
Still have 6 points to play with so might have something extra within those points tonight.

Just realised, after looking at my food intake for today that I have eaten NO fruit today!! I have had plenty of water, veggies and wholegrains so I'm not worried about fibre or constipation however I usually aim to have 3 pieces of fruit each day. We were out and about today and I just forgot! Will have to make sure I have some tomorrow.

Tarns, I don't have permission to come visit your blog. Can you add me so I can follow your journey too?

Hope everyone has a healthy week- body mind and spirit!

Ash
xox

Wednesday... creative title huh??!

What an overwhelming response to my vox post asking for people to email me if they wanted to come over here! I had 30 emails in the space of a couple of hours today! Welcome to everyone! I encourage the lurkers to pop in and say hi every now and then as I had NO idea how many people were tuning in to my adventures!!!

Well! The 1st day of the rest of my life was a successful one! I managed to eat well and exercise! Well... not really "exercise" as such... I went clothes shopping! LOL! That IS exercise for me at the moment as it involves more than sitting on my bed, the couch or in the car! John and I wandered around Box Hill Central for 2 hours while I tried on clothes and looked for a few other essentials.

I bought 2 singlet tops, 2 dresses and a pair of dark grey tailored shorts. Lovely! Will post pics soon!

I am sad to say that I am floating between a size 16 and 18 at the moment so I'm not going to buy too many more clothes before I drop a few more kgs. I WILL keep my eyes peeled for things I like though so I can use them as rewards for every 5kgs I lose. I still have a lot of size 12-14 clothes in a suitcase under my bed from when I hit goal last year so I wont have to spend a fortune at the other end... although everything will be out of fashion by then anyway!

I have heard that there is a new weight watchers program where you need to count veggies now!! They also want everyone to eat 2 tsp of runny oil each day as research has proven that WW members were deficiant in essential fatty acids. I am not keen to go back to WW any time soon but like to use points to track my food. I had a lot of success counting points in the past using the old program so I have decided not to worry about the new program and just go on the 32 points a day allowed in the old program for breastfeeding mothers. I'm not gonna start counting veggies now as I don't believe you can ever eat too much salad I eat avocados, tuna and use olive oil in cooking so think my EFAs are fine.

Todays food:
B. 2 pieces wholemeal toast with peanut butter, 1 peach and 1 small nectarine (6)
L. Wholemeal sandwich with light cheese, tomato and a smidgen of avocado (4)
D. Pita pizza with light ham, veggies and low fat mozarella cheese, 1 banana and vaalia yoghurt (10.5)
Snacks. Skinny latte, 1/2 a piece of banana bread, 1 freddo, grapes (5.5)
H20: 2 litres

Total: 26pts
I overate yesterday so am making up some points today... I may have some more grapes and a cup of tea tonight so that will add a couple of points.

Once again, welcome to everyone!!

Ash
xxx

ps. Brookie, would you help me create a fancy shmancy header??