the baby weight

I've been trying various things over the last few months to lose about 20 lbs of weight. A few of the pounds are baby-related, but most was from before the baby - my philosophy then was "well i'm going to get fat anyway, so might as well just let myself go." Boy this was a mistake... I really think that my unhealthy/overweight body was not as well equipped for pregnancy as it would have been if I would have been stronger and leaner. I could be wrong, but that is my hunch.

I was talking to a friend of mine that I sing with at church about how she lost weight after she had her baby. She brought in her book on Eating Clean, and I've been reading/dabbling in it for the last two days. Generally the principles of Eating Clean are 6 meals a day with components like lots of lean protein, paired with complex carbohydrates in vegetables and fruit. Nuts, lean meats, lots of eggs, etc. And TONS of water (like 3+ liters) She really talks about eating "real" clean foods, cutting out a lot of the processed stuff. Obviously, this is hard for me. However, the thing I like about it is that it doesn't make me cut carbs completely, in fact the breakfast is my favorite meal by far, a large cup of hearty and healthy organic oats, with wheat germ, flaxseed mixed in, and mixed berries or various fruit to top it. Then one whole egg and 4 egg whites (prepared however) for the protein. I can't eat that many eggs so I've just been doing 1 egg and mixing 2 whites. Anyway - you can still eat healthy dairy in moderation, and I'm learning about things like almond butter and soybeans. The other decent thing is that most of these foods are good for chloe to eat too, so we're both eating healthier at once and she's experiencing some new foods. It's truly exhausting though as I'm moving away from baby jar foods and giving her more healthy table foods. Sigh. Anyway... enough of that.

The first day was exciting, energizing and motivating. Overall I felt great and really pumped. I drank all my water (peeing like a racehorse, which is actually very hard for me since the bathroom is upstairs and every time i leave chloe alone for a moment in the living room she has a crying fit) I went to the store and stocked up on spinach, lean chicken, almond butter, wheat germ, flaxseed, tuna (which I hate), frozen mixed veggies (it's almost impossible for me to keep fresh veggies in the house without most of them going bad since brian doesn't eat them, plus this is much more convenient for me as a busy mom of a 1 year old!), frozen/fresh fruit, greek yogurt, soybeans, sweet potatoes, etc.

I'm at the end of day two and it's already getting harder. Brian had a bagel for a snack and I wanted it so badly. I am missing my sweets/white carbs, pop tarts, etc. a lot. I'm sick of water already. I'm also feeling the effects digestively too from eating so much more fiber, protein and veggies. That's all I will say. But I believe that will pass. The food I'm eating is good, and I'm not going to the letter, or else I'd have to cook 2 separate meals on the nights Brian's home, and that's just not happening. But I just miss the convenience of the things I was eating before. But I know I was letting myself get so dehydrated, and so hungry, so I know that this schedule of eating, and these foods are really really so good for me in every way.

I did get a short work-out in today too, but I know I need to increase that as much as I can, especially lifting weights, resistance training.

So... anyway.... that's all. Going to keep it up. Hopefully I'll start seeing some changes and can stay motivated to keep going. Thanks for reading!