I reached a significant milestone this week - I broke the 80 lb mark which was my original goal after having the baby. It took six LONG months but I finally did it.

 

I'm not done yet though! Where I am is great, I'm happy, I'm calm, I have a new relationship with food and a commitment to being 'fit' and healthy - not just thin or lean. But I think I can still do more. My body has lost some muscle mass which is fine, I had some extra to start with, so I would like to continue my exercise and eating regime and just see if my frame continues to minimize and possibly appear 'slighter'. I have always been muscular which is a good thing, but the bad side is if I even carry a normal amount of body fat I appear bulky, so the only look that ever worked for me was a quite lean one.

 

Anyways, Michael is six months old on Monday and doing fantastic! He's sitting up to play with his toys and babbling all sorts of noises, he's been trying out all kinds of vegetables too. The kid likes everything... green beans, carrots, peas,,... you name it! I gag when I open the jar of green beans - I hate them so much - but Michael just gobbles them up like he's been waiting all his life for them! And he gives me kisses now, they're slobbery and he just kind of throws his face into my cheek, but they're kisses, I know they are.

 

Sleepwise, we have evolved to a 9 - 5 stretch. We were doing 9 - 1:30 as the longest stretch for a while, but with the food he has added about half an hour every one or two nights. We're hoping to eventually get an 8-8 out of him, but don't hold your breath, this boy is hungry!

 

And the other fun part of my day... I did my very first post-baby Fitness photo shoot. It was outside, we shot in skimpy outfits, lots of fun! Slightly nerve-wracking because every other time I have shot I was 'contest ready' so of course I am softer and a bit bigger, but I know in 20 years I'll think I was hot - even if I don't think that in 20 days from now. It was an experience I had to do. There's a photographer from England who is well-known in the fitness industry taking a trip across Canada to shoot. He is only here for a short time and I have always wanted to work with him, so - now was the time. It'll be interesting to see how they turn out. I looked at some on his camera, but you never really know until you see a bunch together.

 

Should be interesting. Now I am going to take off all of this make up, have a bath and totally veg out in front of the TV. I might even fall asleep on the couch! Until my 5am wake-up call!

I'm still a bit in vacation mode even though I have been back for 5 days now. I think it's the fact that I haven't entirely unpacked and re-organized myself following our trip. It's been a busy week so hopefully by tonight I will be back on track with everything.

 

Michael started solid food this week! Big milestone for us! He's just starting with cereal this week but he absolutely loved it and even though he's not a great sleeper in general, he has been sleeping A LOT better. He's actually taking naps during the day and only waking up a few times in the night to feed. I've always been somewhat of an insomniac so this has never really bothered me, but it's nice for him when he can get some restful stretches at night.

 

And our nursing days are almost over. That might be where the weight went this week!

 

I do need to get back to hot yoga. I am so totally missing it right now. My only opportunities this week would have been in the mornings, but since we were introducing food I wanted to be here for everything. This weekend is a write-off as well, Taso's cousin is getting married tomorrow and then we have a big birthday party to go to on Sunday. Next week I'll get back into it... my body is begging me!

 

We started a Summer session of Strollercize this week. I am going 3 days a week and I love it. We take big long fast-paced walks as a group with our strollers (and babies of course) and we stop along the way and do interval exercises. It's tough, but it's great because your constantly moving and we don't get too much of a chance to be outside throughout the year so an entire summer of strollercize will be awesome.

 

I'm kind of backing off on the exercise a bit. My eating is back to being pretty solid, and to be honest I can't keep up with the amount of exercise I was doing before. I needed to do 3-4 hours a day to get that initial weight off, but now I think I have really improved my body's efficiency and maybe 1-2 hours a day will be enough to maintain where I am at or even continue to slowly drop. I don't think that is excessive, even though others might. People have no problems justifying 3-4 hours of mindless TV watching a day but when it comes to exercise people think you are crtazy if you spend that time improving yourself. I was not overtraining, I just needed to be a lot more active post-pregnancy to make up for how inactive I was during my pregnancy.

 

Anyways, I am comfortable with where i am at. Of course I would like to be 10 even 20 lbs thinner, but if I maintain this weight for a bit that would be okay too. I really want to hit 164 next week though, just to make that elusive '80 lb' mark. We'll see though!

I am currently in California enjoying a much needed vacation!

 

I gained two pounds this week, it is the first week since the baby that my weight has been up. But it's okay. I am staying with family friends who are wonderful and have taken Michael and I in for the week. Dinner has been whatever has been made. I am totally not being a food diva and trying to be 'normal' so I have strayed from my usual diet and have had bread, sugar, and dairy this week. Not in excess, but it's been part of the day-to-day.

 

And my exercise has consisted of daily trips to different malls. That's it. I was going to try to be more diligent, but then I decided that this is a vacation and a week off won't kill me.

 

It has been very relaxing and a lot of fun all week. Lots of sun, pool time, shopping, and eating! We are back home on Sunday night.

 

I'm not going to make this long, we have to get ready for our day, but I hope everyone in Calgary had a great Stampede without us! Ha ha!

 

 

So tomorrow at this time Michael and I will be en route to LA! I can't believe it is tomorrow already, time flies!

 

I hope this trip goes smoothly... Michael is doing well, he's still hungry all the time, and he still has occasional screaming fits. I just hope that one of them isn't tomorrow morning! I have one suitcase and the carry-on left to pack and not much more to bring. Today should be productive, they say you are always the most productive on your final day before a vacation. I have invited a few people over tonight not only to see them but to force me to be ready before the last minute. I am leaving my house tomorrow at 5am, so these people better not be too wild tonight! Ha ha. Other than that I have some final packing, cleaning, and I am getting my hair done. Should be a good day!

 

Weight wise, I wanted to lose more. Surprise. I always want to lose more. But I am fitting into my Skinny jeans now. These are just my jeans that are smaller in size, not those ridiculous skinny legged jeans that are tapered at the bottom. I still have two pairs of jeans to fit into. I would love for them to fit again. These are my 'Ultra' skinny jeans. One pair is from Guess, I bought them in Columbus at the Arnold and I was able to wear them the day before and the day of the competition that night. The next day they didn't fit! The other pair is from Purr and I think those ones fit the week before 2006 Nationals. If they never fit again, I won't cry about it. My hip bones have moved apart slightly, so my body has changed in that respect. For me this isn't a bad thing. I tend to be thick rather than wide, and with my hips further apart, my thighs actually don't touch together as much. I can wear shorts! Normally I wouldn't wear shorts unless I had to. And I feel like I walk bow-legged now. I probably don't, but it feels that way.

 

Anyways, enough of these ramblings - I will update next Friday if I can, otherwise it will be the following week. I will try to be good as much as I can and exercise as much as I can! It's vacation though, so no hard promises!