my diet: week 2

Holy Cow! I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of support I received after my last post! I got the most page views since I started my blog and so many comments on Facebook full of encouraging words and lots of love. I was not expecting that at all. I even received some emails and phone calls from people thanking me for my post because it inspired them to make a few healthy changes in their lives. That feels awesome! Again, thank you so much for all the support and love. You all are fantastic!

Entering the second week of my diet I could definitely tell that I had more energy. Not only did I have more energy I was sleeping better and had no more back pain. I’ve had consistent back pain since I was pregnant with my little boy over two years ago. Every morning I would wake up with a stiff and sore body and it took me forever to get moving in the morning. Now, I am up as soon as the alarm goes off and ready to start my day. I can honestly say that after only one week I can feel the difference a well hydrated and well fed body makes. It’s such a simple concept

I was worried that I wasn’t going to have a successful week. Back way before Medifast, Chris and I bought Cincy Beer Fest tickets for Valentine’s Day. We were so excited to be able to spend an evening just the two of us. It is very safe to say that drinking beer is so not on program not to mention we splurged and purchased the VIP tickets that got us food pairings for our beer. I mentioned this to my Health Coach and asked her if I should wait till after Beer Fest to start Medifast. She told me that I could start right away and I didn’t have to skip our Valentine’s Day weekend. She gave me a few tips that will help me keep the diet going and still enjoy Beer Fest!

During week two I lost three pounds which is a total of 13 pounds lost!!! I am so pleased with these results, especially since we got to enjoy an amazing Valentine’s Day weekend with friends.

Thanks again everyone for your support! This journey is not easy nor is it close to being over, but it sure is more bearable when I have such an awesome support system!

Week 1: -10 lbs

Week 2: -3 lbs

Total: -13 lbs

-sarah

 

time to commit

Alright… what I’m about to say is very hard for me but it’s something that has to be done. I am overweight, that’s not a secret. The secret is how overweight I actually am. I’ve always weighed more than I looked but this time my number and my reflection were extremely displeasing. I’ve tried being more active, eating better, drinking more water, but after a few weeks I found myself falling back into my old habits.

There is definitely something to the saying “Fat and Happy”. Whenever I was lonely, miserable, stressed, or sad, I looked fantastic. But as soon as I was happily in a relationship, happy at work, or had my life together, the pounds started to pack on. It’s about time that I did something serious about my weight and took a step in the right direction for me, my health, and my family.

A friend of mine from church started this diet in the Fall and by January he was down 50 lbs. He looks fantastic. I knew that he was following some kind of program but I didn’t know what it was. I finally got the nerve to call him and see what he was doing to help him lose that much weight, that quickly. He told me he was on the Medifast program. I had no idea what it was, but he was happy to explain it to me. It is a program where they send you pre-packaged food and you eat 5 of their meals a day plus one “Lean and Green” meal. He told me how they assign you a health coach, a licensed dietician, and they help coach you through the process of losing weight. The part that really hooked me was the fact that the program doesn’t end once you lose your weight. That is just the first step. The following two phases are the most important. There is a six week transitional phase that helps you transition back onto regular foods then there is a maintenance phase which is exactly like it sounds. It helps you maintain the weight you have lost. Once I heard his testimonial I was ready to sign up.

I have since signed up, received my food, read their cook book and picked out my first week of meals to make. I think the push I needed was that even though this is a pretty expensive program to commit to, I have a husband who was 100% supportive and was willing to look at our budget with me to make it work. I start my diet February 3^rd (the day after the Super Bowl). I have 3 goals that I hope to achieve with this program. The first is to lose 50 pounds, then 70, then 100. I know that people who know me will say that losing 100 pounds is a little extreme however, trust me it’s not. Once I get the nerve to type out my starting weight I will update all of you will my progress and post pictures and information about my weight and measurements. I am very much looking forward to this diet and ask only for support and positive thoughts. Believe me, I have plenty of negative thoughts running around in my own head, I don’t need yours too.

***UPDATE***

I’ve been on this diet a week now and I’ve had some ups and downs. I was told that the first 4 days are the awful and if you can make it through that you can make it through the program. I was preparing myself for the worst. My first 3 days weren’t so bad but the cravings really hit me on days 4 and 5. I kept floating between feeling excited about the diet, to wanting to scrap the whole thing. The only thing that really kept me motivated was stepping on the scale each morning. The weight immediately started to slip away. I have been on the diet officially a week and I am down 10 pounds!! 1/10 of my goal was completed in the first week. It’s safe to say that some of the cravings are still there (I’d consider  committing a minor crime to obtain some hot wings) but when friends came over Saturday night and brought pizza I was content with my veggie burger and salad. Then on Sunday I went to my parents’ house after church and Mom made a roast and mashed potatoes. Despite it smelling amazing, I was satisfied with a salad and a baked chicken breast with a little tomato salsa.

I think I’ve finally hit that acceptance level I keep reading about. The rules of Medifast are simple to remember and follow. I still miss fried food (which is my go to comfort meal) however I’m making it work and don’t feel like I’m being cheated. Hopefully week two yields the same results and I gain even more confidence in this diet and with myself.

 

-sarah

 

Things I have been doing instead of blogging…

Increasing my chalk art prowess

Perfecting my fort building (don't be jealous of our mad skills)

Picking flowers in the back yard. 

Reading books to Yoda.

Chilling at the park in Blue Ash

Interviewing house painters and concrete companies (get ready for a kick ass outdoor entertaining space this summer).

Attempting to make friends with other stay-at-home moms. I say “attempt” because my son isn’t against the adult friends I am making, it’s their pint sized companions they bring with them. Any suggestions on getting a toddler to enjoy other toddlers is very welcome.

Planned and executed a super successful lock in and camp out for the kids at church (post and pictures about said trip to come, once I get parent permission to use a few of the pictures that were taken and an awesome Harlem Shake video).

My husband and I survived our first trip to the emergency room. Ezra fell on Easter and hit his head on the corner of a baseboard. He required three stitches. Baby Boy did much better than I did. We sat in the exam room long enough that the numbing ointment worked well enough that he didn’t feel the stitches at all. He wasn’t a huge fan of us holding him down to get the stitches but then again he has never been a fan of being confined in any way. Getting the stitches out was a different story. It took four adults to hold down this 18 month old toddler. Again, the pediatrician insisted that he was not in pain however you could have fooled me.

We are approaching our Gatlinburg trip and I couldn’t be more ready for a vacation with friends. The trip idea began when my bff wanted to celebrate finishing her Master’s Degree and passing her licensure exam. We decided on Gatlinburg mainly because my husband and I have been there 2 or 3 times since we have been married and it’s a nice, fairly inexpensive place to spend a weekend in the mountains. We have used Auntie Belham’s Cabin Rentals for the majority of our trips however this time we are renting a VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner). I will give a full report on the trip once we get back. VRBOs are a little less expensive from what I’ve seen and hopefully we all have a great time.

Until Next Time...

Sarah

Call off the Search!

Yes, I’m alive. Yes, I know it’s been forever since I’ve written. Yes, I know that I’m a terrible blogger and should just forget about the whole thing. Now that that is out of the way here are a few things I have accomplished since my last entry.

1.      Mastered a yeast roll recipe that hasn't been reproduced in 25 years. I was beginning to believe that this recipe was a conspiracy. However one inedible and three slightly less inedible batches of yeast rolls and 20 pounds of flour later I produced a batch of rolls so beautiful I cried (no joke, I was beginning to place my self worth in the result of these rolls).

2.       Successfully made it through the holidays (3 Thanksgivings, one of which I made all myself and 5 Christmases)

3.       Hosted a New Year’s Eve Party.

4.       With my newfound confidence in bread baking, I began exploring other recipes and now make bread for communion at church.

5.       Began couponing (not extreme couponing, but enough to save us $30-$50 a month).

6.        Learned how to play and dominate my husband in Canasta. For the record he won’t play with me anymore unless we are partners.

7.       Made 7 scarves.

8.       Learned how to knit using a loom.

9.       Bought a beautiful new sectional couch.

10.   Learned how to sneak vegetables into my son’s food, thanks to a wonderful cookbook called Deceptively Delicious.

11.   Planned and booked a weekend getaway for all our friends in May.

12.   Started counting calories.

13.   Filed our taxes.

14.   Made plans to spend/save our awesome tax return.

15.   Maintained a clean house and happy spouse and child.

And my most proud accomplishment…

16.   Lost nine pounds. Woohoo!

Things in the future that I will share:

1.       Our weekend trip away in May.

2.       The tale of how my husband and I took 8+ children camping (that is of course, if we survive).

3.       My son’s future antics.

4.       My future weight loss. Nine pounds is great but the goal is 20 pounds by May and 35 pounds by July.

5.       My visit to Joseph Beth Booksellers to meet Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess.

Until next time,

Sarah

Happy Birthday Ezra!

As always, this post has taken me far too long to write, edit, add pictures and post. You will have to bear with me. I’m not the “put together, get it all done, organized, stay at home mom” that I was hoping I’d be right now.

On October 6^th my son turned a year old. We threw a party, Halloween and Pumpkin themed, of course. I made Ezra’s birthday cake, as my mother had done for me and my brother. It tasted delicious (spice cake with caramel and cream cheese frosting). It was however, uglier than sin. So I’m not the best at frosting cakes… it tasted great. The kids had a great time and enjoyed their Halloween masks and head bands (thank you Wal*Mart) and their healthy, yet still appealing, goodie bags.

The night before Ezra’s birthday, after he had gone to bed, we were getting some things ready for the next day and I couldn't help but think how quickly the past year had gone. Only twelve short months ago we brought this tiny person home from the hospital and he was helpless. I remember having the realization that if we don’t feed him, he doesn't eat. I realize that this concept makes total sense and I’m aware that I probably knew this before he was born, but the first time he cried and there was no nurse to help me figure out what was wrong, that really scared me. How on earth could I take care of this little human? Who did I think I was? Why did I think I could handle this? 

After a few weeks, I got the hang of it. Chris had gone back to work. I was going to be off till January, just me and the baby. After about 6 weeks I was ready to go back to work. I am one who thrives on social interactions and you only can expect so much from a 6 week old. I was not enjoying this maternity leave. While I was home alone (essentially), I found ways to pass the time. I put up Christmas decorations (before Thanksgiving). I cooked… a lot. The house was always clean (which Chris really appreciated). I even had time to think about how I would revamp the Family Medical Leave (the PC term for Maternity Leave) to include 2 months at the very beginning of the baby’s life and then you had the option to take 4 weeks of leave any time during the baby’s first 2 years. You would still get the standard 3 months off but you could split it up so you wouldn't spend three months watching a kid eat, sleep, poop, and cry. As soon as Ezra started smiling at me all the time, laughing and exploring things (when you actually get some satisfaction and repayment for the sleepless nights and copious amounts of laundry) it’s time to go back to work. That is simply NOT FAIR!! Not to mention my husband’s company gave him two weeks off when the baby was first born then he could take 2 more weeks anytime he wanted before Ezra turned a year old, in order to “bond with him”. (I apologize for the incoherent thoughts, I've been emotional)

After the holidays it was time for me to head back to work. The night before I headed back I was a wreck. I was excited to get back to my old life; a life that I understood, a life I could manage, where I knew how to do my job and a life where I didn't have to ask so many questions. Boy was I wrong. Despite the fact that I was only gone 3 months it seemed everything had changed. So there I was, confused and unaware of how to handle my new life at home and confused and left behind at work. Needless to say, maternity leave was looking better every day. I was only back to work about 8 weeks before I knew that my true calling was to stay home with my baby boy.  It took some major planning and sacrificing but I've been home for almost 2 months and it is by far one of the best decisions I've made in my life.

It’s so hard to believe everything we've accomplished in a year’s time. Ezra went from a helpless beautiful baby boy to an adventurous, adorable little ball of fire (that took his first steps the day before his birthday). This year has definitely been a defining year in the life of the Tyo Family. We can’t wait to see what the next year has to offer. 

Setting the Routine

*I would like to preface this blog post with a fact. This post has taken me 4 weeks to write (because let’s face it, it took me that long to get used to being home with a very busy little boy).

Things have really come together the past  two  four  six weeks. The house is staying clean, dinner is ready when Chris gets home and Baby Boy is having a great time at home with Mama (although his recent attachment issues will soon need to be addressed). We have established a routine that is simple and pretty easy to maintain.

Things we have done in the past 6 weeks:

-Gone to the Zoo (at least once a week so far). We will take you too!

-Multiple walks around the neighborhood and to the park

-Celebrated our third wedding anniversary with a night in  downtown Cincy. We ate at Rock Bottom Brewery, stayed at the Millennium Hotel and celebrated our city’s German heritage at Oktoberfest.

-Planned a trip with my parents to Tennessee in November.

-Planning the most wonderful 1^st Birthday party a little boy could ever have.

Where has the time gone? I feel like just a few weeks ago we brought Ezra home from the hospital and now in less than a week he will turn a year old. He is so close to walking and has three teeth. We will have our 1 year checkup in about 2 weeks and I can’t wait to see how much he’s grown. He is definitely heavier and taller than he was at his 9 month appointment but really I can’t even begin to guess how much bigger he is now.  He has developed quite the personality and likes to do things that make people laugh. 

*My husband suggested that all the funny texts/stories  I send him during the day would be nice addition to my posts. So. Here. You. Go.

“I just watched our son dump his breakfast on the floor. I didn’t say anything then he noticed that I saw him and he moved his hand really fast like ‘I didn’t just do that’ and gave me the Tyo grin with the Blanton eyes and I realized that we are in a whole lot of trouble.”

“Every time I pick up the phone and bring it to my face the baby crawls up and yells ‘Dada’ into the phone.”

“I closed the bathroom door to keep the baby out but I had left the light on. Ezra crawled up to the door, stood himself up, pounded on the door and yelled ‘dadadada’.”

Ezra may have become very attached to his Mama in the past six weeks, but he loves his Daddy and whenever there is a chance he can see Daddy or hear Daddy’s voice, he takes advantage of it. 

My little boy is beginning to develop quite the personality. I can't wait to see the kid he becomes. 

<3 Sarah

My Mini Vacation

I have officially been off work for over a week. It’s still very strange getting up and not getting ready to leave the house right away. In fact, I still am up at 6:00 when Chris gets up. I get dressed and have my coffee before the baby even gets up. I am hoping that this trend continues. Ezra is still in daycare right now (we paid till the end of the month). I used my time alone to organize the house, get some things done that would be much easier without a nosy toddler involved. 

 

This morning (okay, okay, it’s almost 11:00), I write from Starbucks in Blue Ash. I have had some emails to send, church things to type up, and honestly I have been so distracted at home that none of them have gotten done. As of right now, I’ve been sitting in this coffee shop for about 90 minutes and have gotten far more accomplished than had I been sitting on the couch at home. On top of all the above things that were mentioned I have also completed a list of things for Ezra and I to do in the next few weeks to keep our days from becoming mundane.

Autumn Activities for a Busy Toddler and Mama:

We will happily accept any other ideas that people have.

Go to the Zoo (we bought a Cincinnati Zoo pass and get free guests. If you have a free morning/afternoon let us know. We would love to take you to the Zoo.)

Renaissance Festival (no judgement please, I have never been and I love that kind of stuff)

AultPark

Pumpkin Painting

Apple Orchard (still looking for a good one, the one that I used to go to closed)

Play in the Leaves

Visit the newJungle Jims

Labor Day Weekend

House is clean. Laundry is caught up. We have no scheduled plans. The Ultimate Trifecta (as my husband says).  So far, we have only left the house to do what we want.  It’s wonderful. A perfect way to begin this new chapter in our life; caught up, organized, and unobligated.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend.