Monday, September 27, 2010

Enter Jack Frost

We haven't had our first frost yet... but with snow showers predicted for Friday, I had better pull out those mittens, scarves and hats!  The crisp fall breeze has quickly given way to the cold winter chill here in Alaska.  It is time to switch into winter work out mode.

What do you enjoy doing during the winter?

I'm going to continue walking with LB during the day.  However, we will have to bundle up more and stay out for shorter periods.  I was concerned for LB being out in the cold, but he'll be fine in his snow suit and blanket.  DH was worried about me being out in the cold too long.  Apparently, when the temperature drops as long as it does here in AK it is bad to exercise too much.  He said that my walks should be shorter because I will be carrying more weight with my heavy clothing.  Also, he said that exerting myself too much in the rigid temperatures won't help my body and might harm it.  Plus, I'm much more likely to lower my immune system and risk getting sick if I work out in the cold too often.

I suppose I need to find some things to do indoors.  I won't be walking at -30*! :0)

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Motivation Monday, September 27

Motivation Monday




Welcome to Motivation Monday!  I will be chronicling my journey back to a healthy body, mind, and spirit.  Each week I will discuss how the previous week was and set some goals for the next week.  I will also be listing my progress.  If you would like to see past progress you can look in my archives for other Motivation Monday posts.  If you would like to get motivated with me please link up your post using the link form below.  Your post can be in any format you want.  Whether you are trying to get healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually or if you just have a task you need some motivation to complete...please link up so we can help support each other.  I would love to hear about your progress and help keep you motivated!


I am doing my Motivation Mondays a little differently now.  I will still be weighing in, but instead of tracking my progress by workouts done and pounds lost, I will be sharing some healthy steps I've taken during the week and some positive changes I have noticed.

Healthy Steps
On Wednesday I went for a 1.4 mile walk.  It felt pretty good.  I was exactly on time with google maps' estimate when I thought I would be several minutes behind.  My goal for next week is to find my good walking shoes and shave at least 1 minute off that time.  I am hoping I'll have enough energy to make the walk everyday.  I need to find my warm clothes though because it is supposed to snow on Friday.

Changes I've Seen
The scale went down! lol  More than that, I have been getting more sleep and feeling less tired.  I also have a bit more physical and emotional energy this week.

My Numbers {From Last Saturday's Weigh In}
{Green is Improvement, Red is Bad, Mmkay?, Blue is Stayed the Same}
Weight - 224.4
BMI % - 54
Water % - 34.6
Muscle Mass % - 33.2

How did you do this week?
If you would like to link up, you can do it on any of the sites with this linky tool.  Linking to one will link you to all of them.  It's that easy!  If you'd like to have the blog hop linky on your post like mine, just press "Get the Code Here" and copy/paste it into your post.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Motivation in Motion - My New Etsy Shop!

As my first Motivation post, I want to share with you something I accomplished last week and am working on daily to keep the motivation going...

I finally did it!!! I actually signed up for an etsy.com shop and I am working on crafts to post in it right now.  I am so excited.  I rarely follow through with anything I plan, but this time I aim to change that.  With DH's help and encouragement, I know I can do this!

Just in time, Etsy is launching a Holiday Success Boot Camp and I am joining in.  Here is my pledge, made public, so you can help hold me accountable.

I, Jeannette @ http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCraftyHippo, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!


Well, there it is!  There isn't anything in the shop yet, but I am almost done with my first craft so I should have it up for sale by Sunday.  If you don't mind, would you hop on over to my shop every other week or so and let me know how I'm doing and what I can change?  Thanks loves!  You all are awesome!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Hot 100 Goals


Here are my goals to achieve by December 31, 2010 for the Hot 100 Challenge.  What are your goals?  You still have 99 days until the end of the year.  What were your 2010 Resolutions?
  • Lose 15 lbs
  • List 15 items in my new Etsy shop
  • Completely clean and decorate the Living room, Kitchen, Craft room and Nursery
That is 1lb lost and l item listed per week as well as 1 room cleaned and decorate per month.  I think those are fairly reasonable.

The Hot 100 Challenge


Who: Log My Loss
What: Hot 100 - Making the last 100 days of 2010 Great Days!  Use these last 100 days to accomplish three goals for the year and make every day count!
When: From NOW (Entries end Oct 1) until Dec 31st, Updating weekly on your progress
How do I Join? Click on the picture above to join in and make 2010 your year!

I'm in, are you?

Thank you to Debbie Does Dinner Healthy for the heads up about this awesome challenge!  I owe ya girlie!

Friday Fun!

It's time for Friday Fun!  That means it's time for Friday Party Hop! I hope you'll join me this week for some blog, twitter, and facebook hopping fun!




There are only a couple rules for this party.  You don't even have to follow me unless you want to.  I'd rather have a few active readers because they enjoy my blog than have you feel obligated to follow me.  It isn't a rule... but I would love if you grabbed my button so others could find us and link up.
 
The Rules:
1)  Link up your blog, twitter, or facebook... all social networks are welcome here in fact
{Non-bloggers may need to upload photos from their computer or other site}
2) Hop around and follow whomever you want.  No pressure to follow here.
3) Have fun meeting new people!



Won't You Join Me?
I host a weekly meme called Motivation Monday.  You can link up anything you need motivation and encouragement to finish:  getting healthy, a craft project, your homework! lol
 

{Click on the Picture to see all my Motivation Monday Posts}

If you are new here, Welcome!  I am Jeannette.


Here at A Hippo With A Headband you will find a chronicle of my journey to a healthier me.  At my heaviest, while pregnant I was 270lbs and suffered from gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.  I had been losing weight slowly before I became pregnant, but now I know what lays ahead of me if I don't step up my game!  I am seeking to be healthy for myself, my husband, and our children {we plan to have a couple more one day :0P}.

Under my header you can see my weekly weight loss progress.  If you look at my sidebar, you can find my inspirations and a scrolling marque of my weight loss in photos.  In the footer is a chart showing my progress overtime {running data from the ticker above}.

Here are some posts to get you started:

If you are an old friend, welcome back love!  I am so glad to see you again.  Are you ready to jazzersize?  Or you know... whatever.  Just get movin'!  Maybe zumba, yoga, carry a 19lb baby around?  Anything to get that blood pumpin' and your body sweatin'!

Now put on those headbands and let's get started!

Motivation in Motion - Finding Motivation

First off, thank you for all your wonderful comments of advice and encouragement!  It's so wonderful to know there are women out there pulling for me when I have those bad days.  Y'all are excellent friends and I love you for it!

Now onto business, I have been thinking a lot about this post lately and decided I should put it into action.  If Action creates Motivation, then I need to act!  I am going to put out a series of posts detailing my actions for motivation. 

I'm calling it Motivation in Motion.

I would love for each of you to play along if you need some motivation.  I would love to hear what you are doing to keep yourself motivated.  This doesn't have to be about weight loss either.  As many of you said so wisely to me, get involved in a healthy lifestyle and the weight loss will follow.  So, that is what I am setting forth to do.  I hope you'll join me in your own lives.  You can even comment and let me know about something you've done in the past that worked well for you.  If you are planning to work on something now or in the future, I would love to be able to check in and offer accountability if you need it.  I know I will need accountability in all this.  So... here we go!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Getting Discouraged

I know what to do to lose weight... it's simple... burn more calories than you eat.  I'm just not doing it.

I have moved our bedroom across the house and turned off the baby monitor.  I was paranoid the first night, but DH is right, there is very little chance of LB being affected by SIDS now that he is pulling up on his own and 24lbs.  He reassured me we could hear his movement monitor from our room if it went off and I reluctantly went to sleep.  I have caught up on a little bit of sleep since making those changes, but I'm still pretty tired during the day.  I wake up, eat breakfast, then struggle to stay awake the rest of the morning.  Sometimes I just give up on "me time" and take a quick nap while LB naps.

I was going to start working out at least 30 minutes a day on Monday, but it hasn't happened yet.  I move constantly, all day long... chasing LB and the puppy, putting LB in his crib and taking him back to the living room to play, doing laundry/dishes/cleaning the floors... but this is all inefficient activity.  It doesn't burn enough calories for the little bit of food I eat, and it doesn't keep my heart rate up for long enough to make a difference in my weight loss.

I am so busy doing inefficient activity, and too tired at the end of the day (and beginning for that matter), to do any efficient activity to lose weight.  My scale says I have gained another 2lbs this week.  I seem to be gaining at least 1lb a week now.  I did read an article today about a mom with a 10 month old who was still in maternity clothes.  I know it can take a year to lose the baby fat... It's just that I lost it all... then gained it all back.  Now what?  Try again?  It's a bit discouraging.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Motivation Monday, September 20

Motivation Monday



Welcome to Motivation Monday!  I will be chronicling my journey back to a healthy body, mind, and spirit.  Each week I will discuss how the previous week was and set some goals for the next week.  I will also be listing my progress.  If you would like to see past progress you can look in my archives for other Motivation Monday posts.  If you would like to get motivated with me please link up your post using the link form below.  Your post can be in any format you want.  Whether you are trying to get healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually or if you just have a task you need some motivation to complete...please link up so we can help support each other.  I would love to hear about your progress and help keep you motivated!


I am doing my Motivation Mondays a little differently now.  I will still be weighing in, but instead of tracking my progress by workouts done and pounds lost, I will be sharing some healthy steps I've taken during the week and some positive changes I have noticed.

Healthy Steps
Today I will begin working out EVERY DAY!  DH, LB and I took a stroll around a nature preserve before star gazing and it was exhilarating.  It was so nice to walk around, hear the birds, look at the foliage turning color, and especially talking with DH about time travel and the stars.  It was so much fun!  I plan to make that a weekly occurrence.  Daily, I'll be working out at home (at the gym on Thursdays while I'm on post).  I have also avoided the scale for the most part.  I was a bit depressed last night and stepped on after dinner (bad idea! lol).  It read 230lbs!  That is only 5lbs from where I started after LB was born.  I need to make a change!

Changes I've Seen
Hmm, changes...well I enjoyed that walk.  I haven't noticed about my clothes or anything this week.  I have noticed some changes in LB that are going to keep me active!  He is crawling now, AND pulling up!  He's also opening books and studying them.  This boy is about to mobile and he wants to investigate the world around him!  I'll have my hands full very soon.  He's already cruising fairly quickly.

My Numbers {From Last Saturday's Weigh In}
{Green is Improvement, Red is Bad, Mmkay?, Blue is Stayed the Same}
Weight - 225.3
BMI % - 54.5
Water % - 34.2
Muscle Mass % - 33.3

How did you do this week?
If you would like to link up, you can do it on any of the sites with this linky tool.  Linking to one will link you to all of them.  It's that easy!  If you'd like to have the blog hop linky on your post like mine, just press "Get the Code Here" and copy/paste it into your post.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Does This House Make My Butt Look Big?

Do you have a cluttered home?  Are there newspapers and papers piled up on your kitchen table?  Are there mounds of clothes filling the closets?  Do you have to sort through your cupboards to find what you need to make a meal?

The link between clutter and weight gain is fairly easy to understand and very straight forward:

Clutter causes stress in our lives.  Stress increases a hormone in our bodies called cortisol.  Cortisol increases belly fat.  It also increases your blood sugar levels which in turn increases your insulin level, leaving you hungry.  If you are stressing, you are more likely to grab an easy, no fix meal.  I am very much guilty of that one.  Add on being a new mom and still unpacking from our move and I need something quick and easy to eat.  That is one reason I got the pre-sliced apples to munch on.  They are an easy go to snack when I don't have time to make something healthy to eat.
If it weren't for the lack of money to eat out, all of those questions would be true of this house.  I still don't have my pots and pans neatly arranged and have to sort through them to find the right one each night... which makes me want to just make sandwiches for dinner.  I have papers all over the house, mostly junk mail and Netflix envelopes that haven't made it to the trash yet.  Speaking of trash, we have boxes of paper trash from our move that has yet to be taken to the dumpster.  The trash pick up is Thursday, so each Thursday I ought to be able to take all the trash I accumulated during that week of unpacking and get it out of the house... but I get lazy and don't do it.  If my house weren't cluttered, I would notice those boxes more readily and get them out of here.  But, as it is, they kinda blend in.

It has also been suggested by several psychologists that the link between obesity and a cluttered home and office can be extended to other aspects of our life.  People who have more extra weight tend to have more things (clutter) and spend more money (debt).  Personally, I think it's just people trying to fill that hole in their lives.  They use things and food to fill that hole and in turn gain weight, clutter, and debt.  Going back to my post on losing weight with prayer, I am going to try again to fill that hole in my life with my faith and not with the material things that make me unhealthy. I'll continue to rid our house of the excess clutter by throwing away things I don't really need anymore, filing away important papers and things I plan to scrapbook then shred the rest, and try on all my clothes and ask DH which I should keep and which need to be donated for another lady to find and love.  The goal is to find whatever healthy thing in your life that keeps you from putting on the stress and weight, and concentrate on filling your days with that.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Friday Fun!

It's time for Friday Fun!  That means it's time for Friday Party Hop! I hope you'll join me this week for some blog, twitter, and facebook hopping fun!

There are only a couple rules for this party.  You don't even have to follow me unless you want to.  I'd rather have a few active readers because they enjoy my blog than have you feel obligated to follow me.  It isn't a rule... but I would love if you grabbed my button so others could find us and link up.
 
The Rules:
1)  Link up your blog, twitter, or facebook... all social networks are welcome here in fact
{Non-bloggers may need to upload photos from their computer or other site}
2) Hop around and follow whomever you want.  No pressure to follow here.
3) Have fun meeting new people!



If you are new here, Welcome!  I am Jeannette.


Here at A Hippo With A Headband you will find a chronicle of my journey to a healthier me.  At my heaviest, while pregnant I was 270lbs and suffered from gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.  I had been losing weight slowly before I became pregnant, but now I know what lays ahead of me if I don't step up my game!  I am seeking to be healthy for myself, my husband, and our children {we plan to have a couple more one day :0P}.

Under my header you can see my weekly weight loss progress.  If you look at my sidebar, you can find my inspirations and a scrolling marque of my weight loss in photos.  In the footer is a chart showing my progress overtime {running data from the ticker above}.

Here are some posts to get you started:

If you are an old friend, welcome back love!  I am so glad to see you again.  Are you ready to jazzersize?  Or you know... whatever.  Just get movin'!  Maybe zumba, yoga, carry a 19lb baby around?  Anything to get that blood pumpin' and your body sweatin'!

Now put on those headbands and let's get started!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Sudden Need to Bake

I've noticed over the last... well I think since LB was born (and we got a nice kitchen for the first time), I've had a need to bake sweets.  I never felt this way before.  Now, every time I see something sweet at the store or anywhere really... I have to bake it!

Which of course, leaves lots of "fatty cakes" sitting around the house for DH and I to get fat on.  My only saving grace is that a lot of the time I have the urge to bake but not the energy to do so.  The latest craving is cinnamon rolls.  I happened upon them while grocery shopping and thought "They look yummy but I don't want to spend $3 on something that I'm sure isn't as yummy as they look and I could make them for much cheaper anyways."  I happened to be in an expensive store so I thought I would stop by Wal-mart and pick up some cinnamon buns for cheap.  On my way there I decided to turn right and just go home instead.  I was pretty proud of myself.

The problem is... I still want to bake some and I guess it will be a matter of time before my craving overtakes my laziness.  I suppose if I bake them myself and substitute out the oil and butter with flax seed and applesauce they shouldn't be too fattening.  Plus, I'll get plenty of fiber.  I guess it's not too bad to eat one sweet a day so long as I keep up with DH and my deal to do at least 5 extra minutes of exercise when I indulge in one.  What do you think?

Motivation Monday September 13

Motivation Monday



Welcome to Motivation Monday!  I will be chronicling my journey back to a healthy body, mind, and spirit.  Each week I will discuss how the previous week was and set some goals for the next week.  I will also be listing my progress.  If you would like to see past progress you can look in my archives for other Motivation Monday posts.  If you would like to get motivated with me please link up your post using the link form below.  Your post can be in any format you want.  Whether you are trying to get healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually or if you just have a task you need some motivation to complete...please link up so we can help support each other.  I would love to hear about your progress and help keep you motivated!


I am doing my Motivation Mondays a little differently now.  I will still be weighing in, but instead of tracking my progress by workouts done and pounds lost, I will be sharing some healthy steps I've taken during the week and some positive changes I have noticed.

Healthy Steps
DH and I struck a deal last night... for each Pepsi I drink (I got them for our guests last Friday but they ended up not coming over) I have to do two sets of 5 minutes on one of my exercise machines.  For every sweet, a brownie/cookie/etc. is five minutes on one of my machines.  I am also going to get in at least 30 consecutive minutes of exercise each day.  With that, I should be seeing some results on Saturday.  I'd like to get to 220 this week.

Accountability is so important and I have been slacking completely on my food and fitness logs.  I am going to start keeping up with those.  It's not like I have too much going on during the day that I can't take a couple minutes to right down what I ate and how I moved that day...

Changes I've Seen
I've been less out of breath this week.  I've also noticed that I am more able than I thought.  I was carrying LB around and felt like I ought to be able to carry him for half an hour at least.

My Numbers {From Last Saturday's Weigh In}
{Green is Improvement, Red is Bad, Mmkay?, Blue is Stayed the Same}
Weight - 224.8
BMI % - 54.2
Water % - 34.4
Muscle Mass % - 33

How did you do this week?
If you would like to link up, you can do it on any of the sites with this linky tool.  Linking to one will link you to all of them.  It's that easy!  If you'd like to have the blog hop linky on your post like mine, just press "Get the Code Here" and copy/paste it into your post.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Friday Fun!

It's time for Friday Fun!  That means it's time for Friday Party Hop! I hope you'll join me this week for some blog, twitter, and facebook hopping fun!

There are only a couple rules for this party.  You don't even have to follow me unless you want to.  I'd rather have a few active readers because they enjoy my blog than have you feel obligated to follow me.  It isn't a rule... but I would love if you grabbed my button so others could find us and link up.
 
The Rules:
1)  Link up your blog, twitter, or facebook... all social networks are welcome here in fact
{Non-bloggers may need to upload photos from their computer or other site}
2) Hop around and follow whomever you want.  No pressure to follow here.
3) Have fun meeting new people!



If you are new here, Welcome!  I am Jeannette.


Here at A Hippo With A Headband you will find a chronicle of my journey to a healthier me.  At my heaviest, while pregnant I was 270lbs and suffered from gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.  I had been losing weight slowly before I became pregnant, but now I know what lays ahead of me if I don't step up my game!  I am seeking to be healthy for myself, my husband, and our children {we plan to have a couple more one day :0P}.

Under my header you can see my weekly weight loss progress.  If you look at my sidebar, you can find my inspirations and a scrolling marque of my weight loss in photos.  In the footer is a chart showing my progress overtime {running data from the ticker above}.

Here are some posts to get you started:

If you are an old friend, welcome back love!  I am so glad to see you again.  Are you ready to jazzersize?  Or you know... whatever.  Just get movin'!  Maybe zumba, yoga, carry a 19lb baby around?  Anything to get that blood pumpin' and your body sweatin'!

Now put on those headbands and let's get started!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Omg Y'all!

I DID IT!!!  I moved our queen sized wrought iron bed about 100 feet across the house, and our mattresses, including a foam mattress... that thing is HEAVY!

AND I FEEL GREAT!  I lost .2lbs in sweat alone... ewww I know, but YAY!  I can't wait to get on the scale in a couple days and see what imapct that had on me.  Changing the sheets on our bed breaks a sweat and I tore the thing down, carried all 3 peices of it to the other side of the house, carried the mattresses, and then made the damn thing!  Woot!  I also moved some bedside tables in there but they weren't really that heavy.  I must have moved almost 300lbs today.

DH is going to freak!  Okay, so he called today to say that he wanted me to sit on the couch, blog, watch "your movies" meaning chick flicks, and play with the baby all day.  He wants me to take it easy because he needs me to run an errand to the dry cleaner this evening.  Um... okay, take it easy and get out of the house leaving you with the baby?  That's going to be so taxing!  LOL

He's gonna come home and be like... where is the bed?  To which I'll respond... "Um, in the bedroom...duh!"  I just moved the bedroom across the house.. teehee!  As an added bonus to this big move... I now will spend lots of time in the one room that still needs to be worked on because I'll be sleeping in there.  Before it was all to easy not to even look at the room... but now I'll have to finish.  I am so proud of myself.  Thanks everyone for your loving comments.  You guys are the best!  Wanting to come over and help me... you know, if you can afford to fly to Alaska, you can come stay with me anytime!  May I suggest the spring though?  Unless of course you like it -40 and dark.  You are all welcome any time!

Help! Need Advice

Hi y'all... I'm sorta having a minor freak out with some dinner guests coming on Friday (that I just found out about today...)  Since stress is not good for the whole weight loss thing... would you mind popping over to my main blog and letting me know what you would do?  Thanks everyone!

Here is the link for ya:
Surprise!  We're Having Dinner Guests

Monday, September 6, 2010

A New Beginning - Literally

Some of you may have noticed that my weight loss tracker changed a bit... It now shows a loss of 46lbs.  No, I did not lose 30lbs overnight... I have made a decision.

My highest weight was 270lbs after LB was born.  That is 270lbs of me, not me plus baby.  For the last 9 months I have rationalized that I shouldn't count 270 as my top weight.  I had been counting 235lbs because that is what I weighed after I lost all my water weight and some of the pregnancy weight gain.  I figured I didn't really do much but pee to lose that weight... so it wasn't fair to count it as a loss.

Well, to hell with that thought!  I worked HARD for 3 days in labor, pitocin induced labor y'all.  Then I worked hard to recover from a last minute c-section.  I was on my feet and walking the hallways the day after my c-section and cleaning that damned hospital room the very next day after that!  I worked my butt off taking care of a newborn alone since my husband had his own surgery one week later.  I changed every diaper for four months and carried the baby everywhere during that time until my husband's wrist healed enough to bear weight.  So, now that I am no longer depressed and I can see my true self worth... I earned those 46lbs damn it!

That is all.  Thanks for listening {and probably giving me a "you go girl" to your computer, if I know my friends}
{okay, that felt good!  Now, to lose the next 46!}

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Motivation Monday September 6

Motivation Monday



Welcome to Motivation Monday!  I will be chronicling my journey back to a healthy body, mind, and spirit.  Each week I will discuss how the previous week was and set some goals for the next week.  I will also be listing my progress.  If you would like to see past progress you can look in my archives for other Motivation Monday posts.  If you would like to get motivated with me please link up your post using the link form below.  Your post can be in any format you want.  Whether you are trying to get healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually or if you just have a task you need some motivation to complete...please link up so we can help support each other.  I would love to hear about your progress and help keep you motivated!


I am doing my Motivation Mondays a little differently this week.  I will still be weighing in, but instead of tracking my progress by workouts done and pounds lost, I will be sharing some healthy steps I've taken during the week and some positive changes I have noticed.

Healthy Steps
This week I have been munching on apples and celery.  I have also cut back on the amount of cheese and bread I eat in a day.  I've tried to incorporate movement into my regular day by carrying LB around more and bringing up all the groceries instead of asking DH to help with some (we live upstairs).  Tonight I did something fun... I took a nice, relaxing, hot bath... then I SPLASHED!  I did some leg extensions and cobras using the water to help soothe and ease my joints and I ended up splashing a bit.  It was so fun that I splashed harder and kinda... well I was able to finally mop the bathroom floor let's say... it was so much fun and I laughed so hard!  Yay for unintentional ab work outs!  You should try it sometime.  It's nice to be able to "act like a kid" every now and then.

Next week I plan on using my AbLounge nightly (50 crunches, holding each 10 for 10 count is my norm right now), working out on my exercise ball (aren't those fun?), and making use of my new power rider machine.  I might use my elliptical more, but I just can't get in the right rhythm on it.  We'll see.

Changes I've Seen
Okay, let's keep this positive... I have noticed a higher sex drive in the last couple of weeks which means I feel sexier!  It's a nice feeling.  I've been swaying my hips a bit more, wearing nice clothes and sometimes a bit of lipstick.  I plan on getting some eye shadow next time I go to the store since all mine is like 5 years old.  It's been a while since I worse makeup.  I had my hair washed and styled after getting my eyebrows waxed and I feel pretty good about it.  My weight isn't dropping, but I am able to see myself in a better light which is great.  I don't think it was all my birth control, but my depression sure is getting better now.

My Numbers {From Last Saturday's Weigh In}
{Green is Improvement, Red is Bad, Mmkay?, Blue is Stayed the Same}
Weight - 224
BMI % - 54
Water % - 34.6
Muscle Mass % - 33.1

How did you do this week?
If you would like to link up, you can do it on any of the sites with this linky tool.  Linking to one will link you to all of them.  It's that easy!  If you'd like to have the blog hop linky on your post like mine, just press "Get the Code Here" and copy/paste it into your post.

Friday, September 3, 2010

A New Perspective

I need a new perspective.  This whole weight loss thing just isn't working for me.  In fact, it's doing the opposite.  I am gaining weight, stressing out, getting depressed, eating more, then gaining weight.  See the cycle?  I need to break it. 

I know what I need to do, I just don't know how to go about doing it.  I need to live my life happily and get healthy without obsessing over it.  I have a confession to make... I check my weight about 5 times a day.  Everytime I go in the bathroom where my scale lives, I step on it.  I realize that my weight fluctuates everyday and throughout the day, and you know what...?  That doesn't bother me... but for some reason I am drawn to the scale.  I guess I'm hoping it will tell me I've lost 5lbs or something.  I really don't know.

I've decided something needs to change.  Nothing is happening as it is now.  I take that back, things are happening, I'm gaining weight.  That's bad mkay?  Every time I've lost weight it's been during a time in my life where I was busy and paid no attention to my weight.  Anytime I lose weight, people would ask "You look great. How'd you do it?"  And I would stare back dumbfounded until I found a scale to check.  Sure enough I had lost 20lbs and had NO idea how!  Stress is obviously a negative factor in my weight loss system.

I'm still not sure what all needs to change, but I am going to tweak some things on the blog.  My Motivation Mondays will be formatted differently.  I'll still be weighing in weekly and posting those numbers for you, but instead of focusing on how my week went and my progress thus far, I'll be talking about something I did that week to be a healthier me.  I'll also be working a lot on motivation so you'll likely see more posts pertaining to that subject specifically.  Lack of motivation and stress, those are two main set backs for me.  If you have any other ideas on how to live life and not give a crap about what the scale says... please share.  I could use all the advice I can get about this.  I feel like I'm at a stand still.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Friday Fun!

It's time for Friday Fun!  That means it's time for Friday Party Hop! I hope you'll join me this week for some blog, twitter, and facebook hopping fun!

There are only a couple rules for this party.  You don't even have to follow me unless you want to.  I'd rather have a few active readers because they enjoy my blog than have you feel obligated to follow me.  It isn't a rule... but I would love if you grabbed my button so others could find us and link up.
 
The Rules:
1)  Link up your blog, twitter, or facebook... all social networks are welcome here in fact
{Non-bloggers may need to upload photos from their computer or other site}
2) Hop around and follow whomever you want.  No pressure to follow here.
3) Have fun meeting new people!



If you are new here, Welcome!  I am Jeannette.


Here at A Hippo With A Headband you will find a chronicle of my journey to a healthier me.  At my heaviest, while pregnant I was 270lbs and suffered from gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.  I had been losing weight slowly before I became pregnant, but now I know what lays ahead of me if I don't step up my game!  I am seeking to be healthy for myself, my husband, and our children {we plan to have a couple more one day :0P}.

Under my header you can see my weekly weight loss progress.  If you look at my sidebar, you can find my inspirations and a scrolling marque of my weight loss in photos.  In the footer is a chart showing my progress overtime {running data from the ticker above}.

Here are some posts to get you started:

If you are an old friend, welcome back love!  I am so glad to see you again.  Are you ready to jazzersize?  Or you know... whatever.  Just get movin'!  Maybe zumba, yoga, carry a 19lb baby around?  Anything to get that blood pumpin' and your body sweatin'!

Now put on those headbands and let's get started!