Chawho Exwhat?

06/02/2011 08:42

 You may have noticed I haven't posted anything about ChaLean Extreme in...I don't know...a few weeks or so.  That's because I have all but abandoned it.  I still think it's a great workout, and I plan to use it as a strength training regimen, but, for now, I'm exercising in the pool.  By that I mean that the kids and I spend anywhere from 1-2 hours in the pool almost every day.  And it's not a leisurely activity by any means.  The reason for this is that I have a 25 pound toddler who refuses to wear floaties.  Instead, she uses me as her personal watercraft.  I take her from the steps to the ladder to the other steps to the other ladder the entire time.  And when I'm not transporting her, I'm throwing her in the air or catching her when she jumps in from the side.  When my hubby is there to help, he'll entertain her, but that leaves me to entertain the older kids, who weigh a lot more and still want me to throw them around.  Suffice it to say, I get a tremendous workout that leaves me exhausted.  So, ChaLean and I will meet again, but perhaps not until the fall when I have more energy.

As far as the diet goes, I officially started Atkins 2 days ago.  I had been reducing my carbs and calories anyway, but I decided to take the plunge and go all the way with Atkins induction.  I have to say, the transition is much easier when you've already been reducing your carbs.  The Atkins website is amazing and has come a long way since I last looked at it.  There is so much free information, recipes, etc. that you don't have to think about it.  They have a menu planned for you that has 3 alternatives for each meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2 snacks).  Atkins has also changed its approach and made it healthier.  Although they are primarily concerned with net carb count, they also focus on eating a lot of vegetables and lean meats whereas when I did it before, you could eat all the fatty steak, bacon, and cheese you wanted.  I've had stuffed peppers, stuffed mushrooms, chili cheese pork chops, and sausages and peppers, which have all been delicious.  I think I'm going to make a link for recipes once I figure out how to organize them.

I've lost 2 more pounds in the last week, which makes a total of 17.  This is awesome but also frustrating since I am back to the weight I was last April when I became a stay at home mom.  You have to start somewhere, I guess, and at least I'm making progress.  On a side note, if you gain weight, purchase clothes in your actual size instead of stretching out your current ones.  The reason I'm saying this is because I've lost some weight, but I'm still wearing the same size clothes.  I think I could go down a size if I wanted, but I'm still in between.  If I had purchased clothing in size fatty fatty instead of stretching out my size fatties, I would be down almost 2 sizes, which would be way more motivational.

The next week will provide a few obstacles.  First, we have a family thing on Saturday.  There will be burgers and hotdogs, so I guess for that I'll do the whole "no bun" thing.  Then on Monday we go to Asheville for 2 days for our anniversary trip.  Since I'm the only one who plans our trips (*cough *cough), I suppose it's up to me to scout out some Atkins friendly dining options.  I've learned that I can't do splurge meals.  Most people use them to stay on track and prevent binging.  In the past when I've done this, splurge meals become splurge days, which become binge weekends, and then I'm off the wagon.  Like an alkie, I have to stay off the sauce to survive.  So, I will be sticking to my plan, as hard as it's going to be.