Weight Loss #4 Week 3

Unfortunately, I have to put my weight loss on a break. I have been "swimming upstream" for the past week and I NOW know why.

I am on Domperidone. One of its side effects is WEIGHT GAIN. Yup.

During Christmas my family and I suffered a horrific cold. My milk took a dip and I tried everything to get it going again. I fortunately have a wonderful support group on FB called the 'Crunchy Families' and got several tips on how to increase my milk supply. 

I did as much as skin to skin as possible with baby, including drinking dark ale, mother's milk teas, eating oatmeal after oatmeal, drinking enough fluids, pumping... you name it and without success. I met up with a La Leche League trainer and fb friend who pointed out some "anatomy issues" regarding my struggle to feed baby well.

Now wiser and smarter I went to see my Dr. and she prescribed Domperidone 2 pills 4 x a day. Within like 4 days I filled out! I was carrying stones.... ouch! I went down to 2 pills 2-3 x a day and I feel better. Yesterday, I upped my placenta capsules too, to 2 capsules 2x a day. I'm hoping for a good balance.

So, because of the silly vanity I still seem to have within me I "Dr.Googled" weight loss with Domperidone, thinking that since it was producing milk on "overdrive", I must be losing weight faster, I hoped... BUT to my disappointment, it is the exact OPPOSITE!! 

Apparently hundreds of women suffer weight gain while nursing on Domperidone. Bummer.

Well, so until I stop taking Domperidone, I will stop weighing myself, I will accept that I probably won't lose any and might even pile some pounds on and will just focus on loving me the way I am right now. I will eat healthy, I will keep hydrated, I will do Pilates and Yoga... I will enjoy every day that's been given to me. 

I will keep posting recipes and my thoughts. Stay tuned!

As I type I have a 

Greek Yoghurt & Honey Mask on...

Ingredients

1T Greek Yoghurt

1t honey

Mix well, and spread avoiding your eyes, let it soothe for 15minutes + and wash.

Have you been on Domperidone? What was your experience like?

Weight Loss #4 Day 1

I know, I know, baby is only a month old and I've already embarked on weight loss #4. To some of you who do not know my history, I gain a lot of weight during each pregnancy and I have quite a challenge to lose my pregnancy weight afterwards, yet somehow I manage to do it,  even if it's a slow process. More on my previous weight losses, HERE.

So here I am once again. Over weight with a newborn. 

I am nursing, so I have to be extremely careful that I don't hinder milk production or stop it. My baby is my priority. I won't let myself go hungry. I won't limit my vegetable intake either. I'll make sure my calorie intake is sufficient.

During my final weeks of pregnancy, I refused to be weighed at my check ups so I don't actually know exactly how much I weighed before birth, but I'm guessing 250lb ,or even more. Currently I weigh 225lb and that is 2lb less than two days ago. So here I am at 225. What is my goal? Well it's of course my pre pregnancy weight, which is 145lb. Some say I am too hard on myself and should aim for a smaller goal..  Buuut I don't want to.  Call me stubborn. 

My weight day 1 = 225lb

My plan is to prep and precook my lunch and dinners for the next two weeks. If I have the $, I will consider doing it for the next four weeks. This will save me time and protect me from temptations.  

My menu for the next 4 weeks is

2 WEEKS FREEZER MEALS

100-150G MEAT, 100G CARBS, 200G++ VEGG MEAL PLAN

3L WATER, OMEGAS, VITAMINS, OILS

7.30 BREAKFAST OMELET, WW TORTILLA, SPINACH, CHEESE AND SALSA Or oats with cottage cheese and berries

11.00 LUNCH PREPARED MEAL

1.30/2  SNACK GREEK YOGHURT AND BERRIES

4/5 DINNER PREPARED MEAL

*post workout shake

8 ILTAPALA (evening snack) APPLE AND PEANUT BUTTER

4 X CHICKEN, BROCCOLI, QUINOA
4 X MINCE, BEANS, SWEET POTATO
4 X CHICKEN, ASPARAGUS, BROWN RICE
2 X MINCE, QUINOA, BEANS

SHOPPING LIST

·         8 CHICKEN BREASTS

·         1KG MINCE AND TACO SPICE

·         1KG BROCCOLI CROWNS/FROZEN

·         QUINOA (600G COOKED QUINOA)

·         4 SMALL SWEET POTATOES

·         1,2KG GREEN BEANS

·         1KG ASPARAGUS

·         BROWN RICE (400G COOKED BROWN RICE)

·         7 X 0%GREEK YOGHURT

·         PRECUT FROZEN BERRIES

·         2X TRAY EGGS

·         WW TORTILLAS

COTTAGE CHEESE 0% AND 14 X ZIPLOCK BAGS MEDIUM / CONTAINERS WITH LIDS, MICRO AND FREEZER SAFE

  

I will weigh myself weekly on Fridays starting December 19th. I will also post photos of  start and present. I won't be working out until I go to my 6 week check up,  and I will begin with only cardio, kegels and Stott pilates to strengthen my body before I hit the weights. 

So, any suggestions or advice you want to give me?

Until my next weigh in,  

Grace and Peace

My Top 10

1. Financial Freedom Seminar by Embassy Institute. My husband and I have taken this seminar as an annual thing to go through as a couple. I have learned a lot, again. We feel focused once again. We're going through it as we speak and share the experience with some friends of ours. We're planning on getting together weekly to discuss it.
2. Anger Resolution Seminar, by Embassy Institute. I went through this 20h seminar on my own, each night once the kids went down for the night. I discovered a lot and to put this in simple yet powerful words, it changed my life as I know it!
3. Uno card game. I enjoy playing Uno with my son. It's a great way to come together and have a laugh as well as talk.
4. Pinterest Food Recipes. I've stacked baking and cooking recipes to try out with my kiddos.
5. Menu Planning, deal hunting... we're going through a "dry spell" and I have learned to stretch the pennies.
6. Bear Grylls -survivor NetFlix episodes. Can't get enough.
7. Bored Shorts TV Kid Snippets via YouTube. Quite funny. I haven't laughed that hard, ever! Too funny!
8. My workout and diet regime HERE. Going good.
9. Letting go of OvuView App. Again. Old habits die hard.
10. Teaching STOTT Pilates again, after a few years break.

My 30

Last month I turned 30. I was reading through one of my weekly reads, Imperfect Homemaking blog, where I got inspired to write 30 things I have learned over the years. So here it is, my 30 things, I have learned.

1. Everyone has an opinion on child care and how to raise kids. You can let 85% of that flow out the other ear.
2. Food matters. You are either working for or against your body and, you are responsible for what goes in your kids' mouths too.
3. Children are a blessing from the Lord. Psalm 127
4. "We spend our lives dreaming of the future, not realizing that a little of it slips away every day" -B.J
5. God created each plant for a purpose. Gen.1:29
6. Fast food and seedless fruit/vegg are, in fact, from the devil! Ha ha
7. I can't keep my home constantly tidy with 3 kids, 7 and under, without missing out on life.
8. Cooking takes a lot of time away from family. Our meals are a combination of fresh and quickly cooked food. No fuss.
9. Exercise is so important. Our bodies yearn for movement and fresh air.
10. STOTT Pilates is a really great form of daily physical activity.
11. My scrapbooking might have to wait. And, my other projects too.
12. My style, "Jane Austen meets Bollywood" in fact is, simply, "bohemian".
13. His Grace is New Every Single Day.
14. Divorce is not an option and by believing that, makes us work harder towards a stronger marriage.
15. Taking loans and borrowing money, is not biblical and does more harm than good. We can live a debt and loan free life and we are! It's so liberating!
16. Refined sugar is bad, if not, evil.
17. There are thousands of things to be grateful for, as corny as it sounds, there are. Truly.
18. When God's behind it, it is possible.
19. Most things we own are baggage.
20. I love minimalism. Hard to imagine, with a bohemian like.
21. While traveling, it's not detrimental if a child doesn't stick to a certain rhythm.
22. There is great freedom in letting go and not trying to be in control of everything.
23. It is far more important to be godly than goodly.
24. I am a TCK (Third Culture Kid) and my kids are too. I have peace with that.
25. It takes two to tango. 
26. I love growing my own vegetables and I see it as an act of worship and a way to meditate.
27. I love to homeschool and it feels the most natural way.
28. With God's help, I could overcome my biggest fear of moving away from my parents. Not just down the street, but across continents!
29. Simplicity of life is something I value, i.e writing hand written letters rather than emails.
30. The old educational system was wrong. I am not stupid. I'm a Swiss Army Knife. 'Nuff said.  

Weight Loss #3 Part 7

Okay, before I tell you about how much I've lost so far, I want to share with you my two top lunches that I love, and about my new -old -thing, which I have taken more seriously than ever! Keep reading...

Here are my top two favorite lunches. 

Recipe one

Serving(s) 1

Weight Watchers points 7

1/2 C quinoa, cooked and chilled

1/2 cucumber, deseeded and cut in chunks

1 tomato, deseeded and diced

1 T fat free Ranch dressing

100g extra lean ground beef, fried and seasoned.

Mix -ENJOY!

Recipe two

Serving(s) 1

Weight Watchers points 9

1 whole wheat tortilla

1 slice of cheddar cheese (wrap)

100g extra lean ground beef, fried and seasoned (preferably with taco spice)

handful of shredded lettuce

1t death sauce, or any other spicy hot sauce (speed up that metabolism!!!)

1T salsa, hot

And now, the updates.

Last week I pulled my back for the second time in a few months. This is not good. Obviously, I have been so focused on weight loss and exersice that I have lost focus on well-being within, meaning the core. Well-being for me, is STOTT Pilates. I, as an instructor, should know that it's the best way to heal the body, especially the core. Not only does the body get stronger and leaner, it actually sculpts the body as well. No other exercise has been as fast as STOTT in losing inches around the waist. It's incredible. I suffered years of back ache, neck ache and so on, had to quit my job as a hairdresser 2005 because of it. Ever since I started doing STOTT Pilates in 2009, the pain and aches went away.  Hence the reason I became an instructor.

Back to the story, so yes, I pulled my back for the second time! This is because since giving birth to our 3rd, I haven't done any STOTT whatsoever. Why? I don't know how to answer that, I don't know why. I guess the people or places you associate with weekly rub off, a certain way of thinking, especially when it comes to health and fitness. No, I'm not putting the blame on them, I am keeping the blame on myself, myself only. I had attended group ex body pump and so on without strengthening the core at the same time. This is a big mistake. I won't even blame the group ex pump for my bad back. The pump did amazing stuff for the rest of my body, but focusing on the superficial muscles, made my problems worsen. Since I pulled my back, after my back felt a bit better, I've been on the mat again and after one session of STOTT Pilates, the difference is amazing. I feel way better and feel like I'm on the road to recovery and well-being. I won't quit lifting weights, however, it's not my priority. It's high up there on my priority list, but STOTT Pilates is for sure #1 at this moment.

Then for some picture updates... tam-tam-taa! 

was 205 lbs

I found that top which I am wearing in the top picture, to show you the difference in how it fits me today. On top, it's tight. Below, not so much!

Yes, I'm being silly.

Now I am  185 lbs!!! Yay!

This means, I have lost -20 lbs!

I have give or take 40 lbs to go!!!

Here is my Diastasis Recti -Seperation of the abs. I am doing STOTT Pilates to help my body to bring it closer together and give my lower spine the support it deserves! I'll keep posting updates on that side of things as well.

Read more on my weight loss #3 here, where it all began

Read more on STOTT Pilates here, where you should begin

Read about my Diastasis Recti here

Diastasis Recti

DIASTASIS RECTI 

It means abdominal separation. In pregnancy, diastasis recti is caused by the stretching of the rectus abdominis by the enlarging womb. It’s more common in women who have had more pregnancies, due to repeated episodes of stretching. Basically the left and right sides of your abs (rectus abdominis) aren't joined together anymore.

This is what it looks like,

Like I would be 5 months pregnant, always. (11months since our 3rd child was born and do note, she was 11lb when she came out!)

Is it "curable"?

There are a few different methods to deal with it, two which I know of and recommend if need be, are one, surgery and two, STOTT Pilates. Surgery maybe for those who have it "severe", and STOTT Pilates for everybody! 

I pulled my back for the 2nd time since our 3rd baby was born yesterday and today someone asked me if we were expecting our 4th. Oh man, it's time to tackle my core and get some support, literally.

As a STOTT Pilates instructor, I'm going to go the STOTT Pilates route and, I will be blogging updates with pictures!!  Stay tuned!

Find out more about the STOTT Pilates method HERE

and find out more about my weightloss #3 HERE