Workouts and Yoga!

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.


As one of my Resolutions for the new year, I said I wanted to incorporate more Yoga into my life again. January has come and gone and that resolution is still words hanging in the air. Oops.

I have been hitting the gym a lot lately.
I've been trying new and old classes again with different instructors. Most of the time I am a little limited on when I can go (aka during the day care hours) so there are still a few I haven't hit.
I've done Body Pump (love), Boxing Bootcamp (insane), Pilates, Spinning, Abs class...

Other days when I don't hit up a class, I lift weights with Geoff (following some suggestions from bodybuilders.com) and I've recently felt like running again, so I've done a few miles here and there.

Mixing it up so much has done wonders for my mood, my motivation and I get really excited for each day I have gym time scheduled in. I like to keep our days full but not too packed as to overwhelm Logan so we go about 3-4 days a week right now. Even though we would love to go in the mornings, our mornings are filled with fun activities or play dates for Logan... so we are hitting the gym in the early evening hours. At least we are going.

I was recently able to test out a yoga DVD -Yoga Sweat by Julie Schoen and jumped at the chance, hoping that this would be the kick in my pants to get my downward dog on.

On days I don't make it to the gym, I try and do a video at home or a short workout of squats, burpees, planks, etc. My go to DVD's are Jillian Michaels and Insanity- so you can tell from those, I like movement and things to be a faster pace so I don't get bored.

The Yoga Sweat DVD  is 80 minutes of Yoga- it has two 30 minute workouts and a warm up and cool down that are 10 minutes each.

Yesterday after chasing Logan around and putting him down for a nap, I popped in the DVD and tried out workout one and cool down.

Today I went with the warm up and Workout two.

Workout one was great. Workout two was hard!!! I loved both the warm up and cool down and can see myself adding both onto one of the workout as time allows.  I felt challenged by both the workouts and engaged the whole time. My body felt great afterwards with all the stretching. It made me fully aware of how wonderful I feel after yoga and why I want to get back into it more often.

The DVD was easy to follow but also moved at a fast pace. Julie did a great job at talking me through the poses the whole time and I never felt lost in the workout. 

One the box, this DVD says "Powerful and Fun Yoga for Weight loss and Beginners!"
It also say "Burn Calories, Tone Total Body and Increase Flexibility with Invigorating and Playful Yoga Workouts".

I would have to agree with everything. I would like to point out that even though it says for beginners, I would not recommend this DVD for anyone that doesn't have a small understanding of basic poses. This is a quick moving workout and I could imagine someone could get lost and frustrated easily. I've done a limited amount of yoga but I felt really comfortable with this workout since I have taken classes, I know what the correct form of the moves should feel like.

I really enjoyed this video and I honestly already put it with my DVD's that are in rotation for me. It's a great workout for a recovery day or a day when I'm burnt out and need to take it easy. I find yoga can calm my mind while engaging my body- leaving me feeling very refreshed.

Logan loves yoga too! He is perfecting his downward dog.  Haha.

Let me know if you decide to check out this DVD and what you think of it, OR if you have any favorites that I need to check out! 

*I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.*

Body after Baby update #3

Well it's been a while since I have checked in on how I am doing. We are nearing 6 months with Logan in a few days (where has the time gone?) and each day I am feeling more and more like myself. (I think I'm just getting used to less sleep and less time for me- welcome to motherhood)

Since the last check in I really worked hard on tracking my food intake. I utilized Sparkpeople.com and made it a priority to log in my foods and recipes so I really could have an accurate look into what I was eating. I worked hard to get my breakfast and lunch calorie counts down so I could eat more and stay fuller longer (example- instead of a high calorie oatmeal bowl, I added less toppings and had a yogurt on the side). I noticed that I started eating more of the same foods for breakfast and lunch (2 or 3 things that I swap in and out for the week). For dinners we made a list of healthy, safe (calorie wise) and easy dinners to swap in and out leaving one day for a new recipe and one day for a dinner out. Not the most exciting of food times over here but I think it is working well for me and it has been taking me less time to get food on the table. Win, win in my book.

I also finished up the first month of Insanity. The "easy week" pretty much lined up with our trip to Canada so instead of stressing myself out during our trip- I took the week off and enjoyed time with family. We tried to get in a few walks and I attempted to not eat myself until stuffed since we went out to eat quite often on the trip.

I am now back into half of my pants (woo hoo) and working hard to fit into the other half.

Yesterday, I went for my first run with our BOB stroller. I drove out to the Windham Rail Trail not too far from us because its a smooth, paved running trail. There were so many people out running, biking and rollerblading. I was so happy to be out running that I went a little too far and ended up rocking out 3 miles. Let me tell you that running with a stroller is no joke. I am sore Everywhere today! :) Looking forward to more of these.

Here are my stats-
Weight- 151 lbs!!! YAY
left arm- 11.5"  down .5
left calf- 14.5" no change
left thigh- 22" down about .75
hips- 38" down about 1"
belly- 32" no change
bust- 36" no change

Also, if you wouldn't mind helping me out... we entered the parents.com contest to get Logan on the front cover. Right now for the weekly contest he is in FIRST place. Please help us keep him there by voting everyday until Sunday (june 9th). Thanks!!! :) VOTE HERE

Happy June! Do you have any goals to keep active this summer?

Sunscreen Safety

If you remember (or if you are new to my blog) back in May of 2011, I had a bump removed from my nose. It was basal cell carcinoma skin cancer and it was a pretty scary situation for me. (So so glad it turned out not to be melanoma). What I didn't share was three weeks after giving birth to Logan, I was in the dermatologists office getting two more moles on my back biopsied and removed. Yikes.
Granted I am fair skinned, burn easily and have a toooooon of moles however, because of these facts, I have been wearing sunscreen all my life. While some of my friends slathered on SPF 4 or tanning oil, I was rocking the 30 or higher. Lucky for me, I married someone with darker skin and who almost never burns and I've been hoping Logan's skin is a little more like his dads skin than mine.

Since we are well into spring and gearing up for summer (our pool opened today, too bad it is rainy and cold) I thought I would write a little bit about sunscreen safety for the whole family.

According to the research I have done, it is best NOT to put sunscreen on babies younger than 6 months. It is ideal to place them in the shade, under a stroller canopy, or a wide brimmed hat with sunglasses. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that it is okay to place a small amount of sunscreen on your infant if the sun can not be avoided.
From what I understand, a babies skin is much thinner than adults so it will absorb any ingredients of the sunscreen more easily. They also have a higher surface area to body weight so anything they absorb will be more than if on a larger kid or adult.

If your baby is 6 months or older, it is advised to apply sunscreen liberally but avoid the sun when it is harshest from 10am-2pm. Also it's still best to cover the baby in hats and clothing.

Logan will be 6 months in a few weeks so we have been doing our research on what kind of sunscreen to buy. (We also got him swim clothes, swim diaper and long sleeve cover up that have SPF in them.) Since his skin is so thin I wanted to make sure that the sunscreen I was putting on him was the safest I could find. The EWG, which stands for Environmental Working Group has a wonderful website that breaks down the ingredients in different sunscreen brands and gives it a number based on how safe it is deemed to be. You can check out the Environmental Working Groups 2013 Guide to Sunscreens. After hearing about Johnson and Johnson products in the news recently, I made sure to pick out my favorites before going shopping.

We ended up getting a solid stick of Babyganics from Babies R Us (rated a 1) and will be buying Episencial's SPF 35 (also a 1) from the store at my mom's group here in NH. 

I also went through our sunscreen from last year. The consensus is that sunscreen has a shelf life of 3 years after it is manufactured. Most bottles should have an expiration date. I couldn't find much information on bottles that have previously been opened so I am planning on tossing our old and buying new for this summer. I was a little shocked at the ratings of what I had in our cabinets so I think I will be picking out some new bottles for myself as well. I figure I will be holding Logan as much in the summer as I do now so whatever I am wearing will probably end up on him and possibly in his mouth (since he loves to chew on my fingers and shoulder).

As with anything parenting related, it's really up to the parents to decide what they are comfortable with as far as their baby is concerned. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do, as I am not an expert- just learning as I go! I consult with our pediatrican on anything I have concerns with and Geoff and myself make the final decision. This is something that I am concerned with, due to my history and felt like any information I learned might be helpful to someone else!

Anyways, hope everyone gets to enjoy some nice, warm weather for the long weekend! Stay safe and wear that sunscreen.

Body after Baby- update #2

Well, it's been 2 weeks so I thought I would check in on my progress.

Geoff and I sat down and thought really hard on what action we should take. We decided that if we weren't going to take Logan to the gym daycare yet, that we would put our memberships on hold and start working out at home. I started Insanity and Geoff has started P90X and eventually we will switch to the other. This works out best for us when Geoff is flying a flight to New York or Florida, etc and he can take a video or two with him (which we couldn't do when we both did Insanity before our wedding). When we are both at home we trade off working out and watching Logan. When it's just me, I can try and squeeze in a video when he is napping. So far, so good. I do have to say that it is hard to keep up my energy along with breastfeeding but I'm hoping my body adapts and it gets a little easier (until I switch to the second set of videos... yikes!)

Logan decided that he is joining in too... He loves ab work and weight lifting... ;)

Two things I have worked on since last check in are-
-Make sure I drink enough water every day.
Water is super important for not only breastfeeding, but also staying hydrated while working out. I pretty much live off of coffee and water. I'm not drinking coffee all day long (even though sometimes I am so tired that I feel like I should) so getting in those glasses of water comes pretty natural to me. However, I've been so busy with Logan sometimes I don't remember the last time I had something to drink. Now I make sure there are glasses of water all over the apartment.

I've seen some neat Pinterest pins on flavoring water with fruits... anyone care to share your favorite combo? (I usually stick a lemon or soak cucumber overnight for extra flavor)

-I also have been revamping my snacks.
It's so easy to snack in the late afternoons when my energy level gets low and Logan starts to get a little cranky. Instead of grabbing granola bars or chips I stocked up on a few healthy snacks to get me through until dinner (which is always after Logan goes to sleep at night around 8-9pm). A few of my favorites include-

-Almonds: I love love love these Coconut ones (which I can only find at the Target by me)

-Celery and Sunflower Seed Butter
-Carrots and Traders Joes Spinach and Kale Yogurt Dip
-Chobani yogurt with fruit

-Cereal and milk
-Fruit
-Hummus and veggies to dip

What haven't I been good at? Constantly logging all my meals into Sparkpeople. It's a work in progress though... I try my best everyday and I think that is good enough.


Here are my stats-
Weight- 158 lbs. Down one lb. (I'll take anything)
left arm- 12" no change
left calf- 14.5" no change
left thigh- 22.75" down about .25
hips-39ish" down about .75
belly- 32" down .75
bust- 36" down .5 (again, not sure how accurate this is based off Logan's feedings)

Body after Baby update 1

Well, I figured Friday was a good enough day to track how I am doing for the week. I don't know yet if I want to check in every other week or just do a month recap... guess I will just see how it goes!

This week we made a few small changes.
We started to plan out dinners for the whole week.
I signed up for Sparkpeople to track how much I am eating each day.
I worked out and hit up a few gym classes including Body Pump and Spinning.
We limited our deserts to a few times in the week and had fruit the other nights.

Since the weather is getting so much nicer here in the NorthEast, we have been putting our BOB stroller to good use with nice long walks. I figure a walk is better than nothing on the days I can not make it to the gym or when I need a rest day.

There are many benefits to walking that include
-Lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)
-Raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)
-Lower your blood pressure
-Reduce your risk of or manage type 2 diabetes
-Manage your weight
-Improve your mood
-Stay strong and fit

Here are my stats after week 1:
Weight- 159 lbs.
left arm- 12" no change
left calf- 14.5" no change
left thigh- 23" no change
hips-39.75" down .25
belly- 32.75" down .25
bust- 36.5" down .5 not sure how accurate this is. (probably has more to do with how long ago Logan fed. haha.)

Since Logan's schedule is a little more predictable these days, I'm working on getting myself back into more of a schedule. One thing I need to do is bite the bullet and take him to the gym daycare. This would help me hit the gym on days when Geoff is flying but I still can't bring myself to do it. I've only really left him once (besides with Geoff) and that was with my parents when we were in Ohio. I really thought that this would not be a problem for me but I guess having kids changes everything!

Have any advice on leaving your kid at the gym daycare???

 What did you do this week to move your body this week? 

Losing the baby weight...

When I am bored, I like to read others blogs. Sometimes, when I am really desperate, I will read blogs that other people read (listed on their blogs side bar). Over the past year or two I have found a lot of "healthy living bloggers" this way who are around my age and in the life stage of having babies and expanding their own families. I found these blogs fascinating, giving me a glimpse into what pregnancy and life with a newborn looked like. One thing I also took away from these blogs was how easy these women made dropping the baby weight look. Breastfeed, eat healthy and you will be skinnier than pre-pregnancy after a month or two. (Great for you if you are one of these ladies, but these posts can be hard for us who aren't so lucky.)

Well... I am here to tell you that this is not always the case and not to be disappointed or feel alone if you struggle with this as well.

I didn't gain a crazy amount during pregnancy... around 31 pounds.
The first week I dropped 12.
The next week another 3.
And then it sloooooowed to a crawl with a pound here and there.

I've been eating healthy and hitting up the gym a few times a week. I'm almost 4 months out and I still have another 10 lbs to go before I hit my starting weight and about 15 more lbs after that to get to my happy weight. (Thank you honeymoon phase weight gain.) I can get most of my pre-pregnancy jeans to button but they are so tight I would never wear them in public and a lot of my tops are too short.
I know it's not good to compare myself to others but it is hard when it seems like everywhere I read, they make it look so easy. 

I am loving my new little man and doing my best to lose the weight while not tanking my milk supply, (Now that we have our eating routine established I would love to make it to a year) however, to be completely honest- holding onto this weight is really hard for me mentally. Also, breastfeeding has given me an enormous sweet tooth... one I didn't have before. I literally crave chocolate every single day.

My mom told me to remember 9 months on... 9 months off. I keep repeating this to myself when I get upset over all the clothes I still can not wear.

My husband has been completely supportive of me and my feelings during this time, which is wonderful. We've been concentrating on cleaning up what we eat and making an extra effort to get moving. With the beautiful weather we have been having lately, it's so nice to get outside for walks!

I originally wanted to train for another half marathon to kick off my "get back into shape" goal. However, I find myself wanting to strength train and hit up a variety of yoga, spin and body pump classes at my gym instead. Maybe it's the fact that Logan gets bigger everyday and carrying him around in the car seat is a beast.

To keep myself accountable, I am going to add an entry to my blog every so often. If anyone else out there would like to join me on loosing a few lbs and toning up- please feel free to do the same and we can link up to each other. I need all the support I can get right now!

Starting weight and stats- (this is really hard for me to put out there but I want to be 100% honest)
Weight- 160 lbs.
left arm- 12"
left calf- 14.5"
left thigh- 23"
hips- 40"
belly- 33"
bust- 37"

(Please excuse my bad lighting, bathroom selfies)

I find it's really easy to want to portray only the best parts of life on a blog or facebook. No one wants to admit things that seem easy for others are hard for them or show less than flattering photos but I can not get stronger if I don't embrace my life right now! (aka- it is kind of scary for me to be this open on the Internet with something so personal!)

If you have had a baby, any wisdom of what worked for you?
Let me know if you want to join along with me...
Or just leave some encouraging words :)

"Good Job Face!"

If you remember, back in May I had surgery for skin cancer. Basal Cell Carcinoma to be exact. While it usually is a slow growing and non-deadly (if taken care of) cancer, it still sucked to go through the whole surgery and recovery process. Call me vain but it was unusually hard for me since it was 1. On my nose and 2. Months before my wedding. Eeeeek!

Anyways, Sometime after surgery while I was being told how great I did I patted my face and said "Good Job Face!" and that phrase has stuck throughout the months that followed. I was looking in the mirror at how great it was recovering this weekend and took a photo. I realized that I had quite a few photos documenting this recovery so I thought I would share them with you all as a reminder to ALWAYS take good care of your body and health! Please please get check ups, use sunscreen and stay away from tanning beds! (I am rocking the spray tan for all wedding related events!)

While I was at home for my Bridal shower, I learned that not only had I gone through this but BOTH my 2 Aunts had as well. One last year (thanks for telling me family) and one just a few months after me. We all had matching scars on our noses and were comparing stories.

(This is Before I knew what was coming. Notice the bump on my nose... thats the cancer.)

Right after surgery- swollen and miserable. (Sorry for the quality- all iphone and makeup-less)

On my way to get my stitches taken out...

and here i am right after getting my stitches out. YAY!

A month or two into recovery.

And here I am now!

I was worried that I wouldn't be completely healed before the wedding but now that it is getting closer... I don't even really care. Geoff tells me all the time how he likes my scar- it's like a really cool battle wound. You can hardly see it with makeup on and if this is what I have to remind me that life is fleeting and to concentrate on what matters most (family, friends, health...) then I am ok with that! :)

Stay Healthy everyone!