GOAL MET!

This post is for this week AND last week, because last week was insanely crazy with school ending and classroom packing and end of school parties and 5th grade graduation and on and on and on.

So, combined for the 2 weeks, I'm down 2 pounds.  Which means!!!
I OFFICIALLY WEIGH LESS THAN I DID WHEN I GOT PREGNANT!  Woo-hoo!  (But ask me if my size 10 shorts fit now...boo!)

This last week I restarted my 21 Day Fix workouts.  I said in my last blog post that I was going to start sooner, but that didn't happen.  But I'm doing it now!  In the past 5 days, I've gotten 4 workouts in.  On the day we didn't work out, I went walking instead.  I thought the walking would help with how insanely sore I was.  Pro tip: Don't take a month of from working out and then expect to ease right back into it.  These workouts are kicking my ass again!

I'm modifying the workout schedule a little bit, hoping to target my tummy.  I know it's shrinking...but very slowlyyyy.  It's the part of my body that I'm most unhappy with, because well, baby.  So my plan is to to flat ab fix twice a week, in place of the pilates and yoga day.  Pilates is fine, but I hate yoga anyways.

I think we're going to hiking today, which would be a nice change of pace for exercise.  :)

Current weight: 174 lbs.
Weight yet to lose: 34 lbs.

Total weight loss: 21 lbs. 

❤️ Kayleen

19 pounds in 95 days. :)

-1.6 pounds!

I've been craving a lot of fish lately.  I meant to look up what it is that I'm craving from it.  Omega 3's?  Haha.

Okay Ryan, if you say so!

This week I was also hungry more often. I know that sounds weird, but I would get home from work at 3 and be STARVING.  I definitely came right up to my calorie threshold (1,750) this week, and went over a couple of days today.  But I think for me, the extra calories have actually been yielding bigger loss numbers the past 2 weeks.  (The whole, eating enough to fuel your body and burn vs. going into starvation mode.)  I feel like my milk supply has been slightly elevated as well.

I was considering upping my calories threshold, but I figure I'll leave it where it is, and if I go over a bit, I won't beat myself up to much about it.  I don't want to tweak my routine too much--if it isn't broken, don't try and fix it.  :D

As soon as school is out, I'm going to start a 21 Day Fit routine.  I'll have exactly enough time to finish it before we head home for vacation.  I'll have zero excuses not to complete it all the way through with no breaks, so I'm going to do it!


4 days of school left.  24 days until I go home! :)

See you next week!

Current weight: 176 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 1 lb. to go!
Total weight loss: 19 lbs. 

❤️ Kayleen

TWO!

-2 POUNDS!

I'm not going to lie, I do not feel like I earned that 2 pounds AT ALL.  I thought the scale was broken.  I weighed myself like...5 times.  Called Justin into the bathroom to weigh himself to shake up the scale a little bit.  Haha.

I was fighting a cold ALL week.  Started on Sunday morning, and I'm still sniffling and a little achy.  I told my body that I don't have time to be sick right now.  Too much to do!  So I pushed on through work.  Unfortunately I gave whatever I have to Adalei too, so now she's cranky and sniffly too.  Boo.

Continued to walk this week.  No workout videos.  I keep telling myself when school is out I'll hit them again full force.

I've been reading a lot lately on the science of weight loss.  A study came out last week about the participants of The Biggest Loser.  I think it's not that shocking to find out that a lot of them have gained some or all of the weight back--when you losing all your weight in a controlled setting, it's hard to do that on your own when you're reintroduced to the real world.  What IS fascinating is that 8 years after the show ended, these participants metabolisms never recovered.  They still burn calories at a slower rate than they did BEFORE they lost all their weight.  So now they're super heavy again, and are having an impossible time keeping the weight off.  Not only did I feel sad for these people (because I watch the show and find it very inspiring), but it just shows how we still have so much to learn about our bodies and weight loss.

9 days of school left.  32 days until I go home! :)

See you next week!

Current weight: 17.6 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 2.6 lbs. to go!
Total weight loss: 17.4 lbs. 

❤️ Kayleen

milestones.

-1 pound!

I got in 1 workout video this week.  :/  ugh, still looking for my motivation.

I did go on 2 walks though!  Hit 10,000 steps AND exceeded 5 miles twice this past week.

14 school days left.  I can't wait.

See you next week!

Current weight: 179.6 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 4.6 lbs. to go!
Total weight loss: 15.4 lbs. 

❤️ Kayleen

Results!

-1 pound for this week!  :)

I'm ready to jump right into my check-in pictures and measurements.  Mostly because actually seeing pictures of myself now right next to pictures of myself 2 and a half months ago make me really happy.  I'm so happy that I can see a difference.  I'm proud of myself.  

Without further ado:

Left: 4/30/2016                                   Right: 2/22/2016

Left: 4/30/2016                                   Right: 2/22/2016

Left: 4/30/2016                                   Right: 2/22/2016

	2/22/16	3/19/2016	4/30/2016	Difference
Neck	12.5 in.	12.5 in.	12.5 in.	-0 in.
Bicep	13.5 in.	13.25 in.	13 in.	-0.50 in.
Bust	39 in.	37.5 in.	36.75 in.	-2.25 in.
Natural Waist	36 in.	34.5 in.	33.25 in.	-2.75 in.
Hips	44.5 in.	44 in.	42 in.	-2.5 in.
Thigh	23.5 in.	22 in.	21.5 in.	-2 in.
Calf	15.5 in.	15 in.	15 in.	-0.5 in.

I'm super stoked you guys.  I think I needed a little boast to get my butt back in gear.  I haven't done a 21 Day Fix video in over a week.  I've gotten out for walks maybe twice. The end of the year drain is upon me, but I need to fight through it.  19 school days left!  (Ugh, that makes me anxious just typing it!)

Since I'm already in my workout clothes, I should probably do a video.  That way, when we go see The Jungle Book later, I don't have to feel SO guilty when I have some popcorn...just a little guilty.  :)

See you next week!

Current weight: 180.6 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 5.6 lbs. to go!
Total weight loss: 14.4 lbs. 

❤️ Kayleen

time crunch.

-1.2 pounds!

I've totally been slacking (which is evident by the fact that this blog post is going up 5 days after my weigh-in.  I know I said I was going to do pictures and measurements on Saturday, but it's going to have to wait until this Saturday.

It's the inevitable time crunch that all teachers run into at the end of the year--state testing, wrapping up learning, assessments for report cards, meetings, SO MANY damn reflections, and looking ahead to next school year--buying supplies, looking at our upcoming students.  We have to tear down everything beautiful that we created at the beginning of the year only to start all over again in July.  It always turns out okay, but it feels SO manic in the 20 days that we're trying to do it all.

A little bit of Rumi wisdom

I've also felt like garbage the past week or so.  Fighting breast-feeding issues, having a 3 day long headache, and other seemingly random aches and pains has made life pretty junky.  BUT, today I feel awesome, and am hoping this is the turnaround.  It also helps that I got a full 7 hours of sleep last night.  Feels wonderful.  :)

I also booked our flights for our trip home!  Adalei and I will be flying in Portland on June 15th.  Justin will join us a couple of days later, and then we'll head up to Seattle to spend time with family there too.  :)  Which means I have 6 and a half weeks to lose 6.6 more pounds to meet my first goal.  I'm stoked because I think this is a very attainable and manageable goal.  :)

See you on Saturday with an on-time blog post!

Current weight: 181.6 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 6.6 lbs. to go!
Total weight loss: 13.4 lbs.

❤️ Kayleen

keep on keeping on.

This was me all week!

-1 pound!

Temptations were high this week.  I feel like every day at least one student was coming into my classroom in the afternoon offering me a piece of cake, a cookie, or a cupcake.  It's a standard practice by the kiddos at my school to share their leftover birthday treats with the other teachers on the floor.  I don't know what it is, but I have a really hard time telling the students no--like somehow me telling them "no thank you" will hurt their feelings, or make them less likely to want to share their treats in the future.  Crazy, I know!

When one of my former students brought me a piece of cake, I accepted, took a bite, and threw the rest away.  That one bite was delicious.  :D  It's all about balance, right?

My sister-in-law was hosting another weight loss challenge, this time 2 weeks long, but I decided to opt out.  While I always want to hurry along my weight loss, I've got a really steady pace going right now, and I feel like I shouldn't mess with it.  But only losing a pound a week also isn't going to win me any contests either.  :p

My Wednesday Night Workout

I hardly worked out this week.  My back has been hurting a lot more lately, and didn't really feel better after my chiropractor visit on Monday.  I even asked Justin to switch sides of the bed with me to see if switching up the mattress would help alleviate some of the morning soreness I'm experiencing.

I struggle with the balance between pushing myself to work out even if I'm sore, versus trying to work through a pain in my back and making it worse.  Bleh.  I only got 2 workout videos in and 1 long walk with Adalei.  I need to force myself to do more walks.  It's easy, Adalei likes riding in her stroller, the weather is always nice, plus, I can usually hit my 10,000 Fitbit steps if I walk at night!  There's really no reason why I shouldn't, other than the couch is comfortable and reruns of The OC are a wonderful guilty pleasure for me as of late.

See you next week!  I'll be posting my first round of results pictures.  I'm weirdly exciting and also nervous to compare where I was 2 months ago with where I am now.

Current weight: 182.8 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 7.8 lbs. to go!
Total weight loss: 12.2 lbs.

❤️ Kayleen

planning.

-1 pound!

34 school days left.  I can't wait to be off for summer.  I can't wait to work out in the middle of the day instead of yawning my way through it after Adalei goes down for the night.

I figured out if I can keep up my one pound a week loss, I'll be back at my pre-pregnancy weight by the time we head home to visit family.  That will also be right around my 9 month mark, meaning I was able to get off my baby weight in the same amount of time that I put it on.  (And really, I gained more weight after I had Adalei...ugh.)

I'm constantly trying to seek the positive.  I find myself examining myself in the mirror after a shower and thinking to myself, "I think my belly looks a little smaller."  Walking in Target yesterday, I caught a side glimpse of myself in a mirror and thought, "Maybe my upper arms aren't as big as they used to be."  I still have a long way to go, but celebrating the small victories keeps me going.  In 2 weeks I'll have been at this for 3 months, and will take a second round of pictures to compare to my first set I took in February.

I also feel like I'm still able to find a balance between enjoying food without restricting myself too much.  I do find myself telling friends, "I can't have that!" in reference to a sweet treat or other unhealthy snack that they're sharing.  I think sometimes I sound crazy saying it, but saying it out loud reaffirms to myself the choice I am making.

I'm fairly certain I didn't win the diet bet that I'm doing with my sister-in-law.  That's okay.  Some of the other people in the group have already lost 3-4 pounds, which is great!  $5 well spent on my part! :)

See you next week!

Current weight: 183.8 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 8.8 lbs. to go!

❤️ Kayleen

Milestones.

-1.2 pounds!

Wooooo!  In the single digits for my first weight loss goal.  ANDDDD, I've officially lost 10 pounds since I've started this new journey.

This last week was rough.  Being back at work is rough.  The last quarter of school always feels so stressful.  It's like all of a sudden we've run out of time and I feel like I still have so much to teach my kids.  Throw in the big, scary mandated state test, IEP meetings, professional development days, trying to prep for La ʻOhana (May Day celebration), and having to plan La ʻOhana this year, and I feel like my head is going to fall off.

One perk that at least when I'm at school, I'm too busy to snack.  So at least there's that.  ;)

I got in a majority of my workouts this past week.  5 out of the 7 days.  I'm still using the 21 Day Fix workouts, because they're still freaking hard.  I'm using less of the modified moves, but still can't do a whole minute of some of the moves without pausing to breathe, fall over, etc.  :D  I think after this next round I may give T25 a try.  But I want to feel like I at least mildly conquered these workouts before I move on from them.  They're still not easy enough to not be effective.

I'm joining my sister-in-law's weight loss challenge this next week, so hopefully I can make some money doing what I'm already doing!  :D

See you next week!

Current weight: 184.8 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 9.8 lbs. to go!

❤️ Kayleen

Spring break is nearly over. :/

-1 pound!

Sorry for the late post.  Yesterday was the democratic caucus here on Maui and I feel like that took up a majority of our day.  Then today was Easter and I went to 2 different friend's houses to celebrate with entirely too much ham.  :D

I was pretty relieved to see a negative on the scale this week.  My food choices weren't super great, and I skipped a few workouts as well.

yummmmmm!

I signed up to take a class over break, which was 2 days long.  Lunch was provided for us both days, which is nice since I'm paying $150 to attend.  Unfortunately, the provided lunch was a Hawaiian bento box.  Now let me preface this by saying that a bento box is fucking delicious.  They come in these super cute lunch tray style plates and come with a variety of different kinds of chicken, beef, fish, rice, and mac salad.  Notice how there was no mention of green salad, fruit, or vegetables?  Yeah, delicious, but entirely not conducive to dieting and portion control.  :p

I'm not sure if someone complained, but the second day's bento box came with green salad (drenched in dressing) and a side of pineapple.  Needed to balance out the teri beef and fried fish.  ;)  Anyways, I made the choice and ate the deliciously awful bento boxes.  And then didn't work out either day after my classes.  (Something about learning for 8 hours makes me super tired...hahahah.)

My newest Fitbit milestone!

It's okay though, new week, new opportunities, new goals.  Especially after the 2 different Easter dinners I've had today.  Oye!

Tomorrow is the last day of my spring break, which I'm finding to be entirely too depressing.  I'm really enjoying being a stay-at-home Mom.  And it's SO nice to be able to work out in the middle of the day while Adalei is napping.

I just have to keep looking forward.  Only 9 more weeks until summer vacation!  I'm SUPER excited to go home and visit family.  I'm hoping to at least be at my pre-pregnancy weight by then!

Current weight: 186 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 11 lbs. to go!

❤️ Kayleen

Slow & Steady

-1.4 pounds!

I'll take it.  I'm really appreciating the consistency right now.  There's nothing worse than working hard all week and than not getting a reward on the scale.  I know, I know, the scale doesn't dictate my life.  (Except that it does.)

My Fitness Pal has really helped me keep my serving sizes and portions under control.  I've mostly been subscribing to the "everything in moderation" food plan, as long as I track it, portion it, and work out.  

My workouts went much better this week.  It probably helps that I'm on spring break and don't have to go to work.  :p  Didn't get to any of the doubles this week, but I'm going to shoot for them again next week, since my spring break is extra long this year.  yipeeeee.

I've decided to change my first benchmark goal.  Instead of using my standard 10% goal, I'm going to change it to my pre-pregnancy weight.  The numbers are basically the same, but getting my baby weight off is what restarted this journey for me.  After I get there, I definitely have more work to do.

Lastly, it's been approximately one month since I started, so I figured it's a good time to check in with measurements.  And yes, I've been working on my 21 Day Fix workout for a month too...lol.

I've never tracked measurements during any of my weight lots journeys, so I'm not sure what I should be expecting.  But any negative difference is positive to me!  :)

	2/22/16	3/19/16	Difference
Neck	12.5 in.	12.5 in.	0 in.
Bicep	13.5 in.	13.25 in.	-0.25 in.
Bust	39 in.	37.5 in.	-1.50 in.
Natural Waist	36 in.	34.5 in.	-1.50 in.
Hips	44.5 in.	44 in.	-0.50 in.
Thigh	23.5 in.	22 in.	-1.50 in.
Calf	15.5 in.	15 in.	-0.50 in.

Current weight: 187 lbs.

Pre-pregnancy goal: 12 lbs. to go!

❤️ Kayleen

Spring break is almost here!

-1.6 pounds!

*whew*  My workouts were pretty sparse this week.  I only worked out 4 of the last 7 nights.  The level of tired I have felt the past week I didn't think was possible.

Tracy and I did walk on the same day I did one of my 21 Day workouts.  It was actually easier to do my workout video AFTER walking almost 2 miles.  Who knew exercise leads to more exercise?  ;)

My ah-ha moment for the week is that no one should ever eat Costco muffins.  I had a professional development day at school yesterday and of course we had snacks.  The Costco muffins on the back table were cut into fourths.  I grabbed a piece thinking, "80, maybe 100 calories?  I'll put it in my calorie app later."  Later that day when I looked up the nutritional content for a Poppyseed Muffin, I nearly fell off the bench.  I checked multiple websites, because a muffin can't possibly have 700 calories and 40 grams of fat in it.  But it's true!  Ick.  It made that 3 bites of muffin totally NOT worth it.

I've eaten out a couple of times in the past week, and that has always been a struggle for me.  I fret over making the right food choice, especially because choosing the salad isn't always the best choice.  Based on my results this week, I think I can say I did pretty good!  (I probably could've skipped the pistachio gelato, but you still gotta enjoy yourself, right?!)  Marlo swore it was the one made with the least sugar...haha.  :)

I only have 2 days of work next week and then I'm on spring break for a week and a half!  woooooo!  I'm going to use this time to focus on a couple of things:  I'm going to work on doing double workouts at least a couple of my spring break days.  (The 21 day fix program suggests you do it in your third week, if you can.)  For me, time is the real issue of doing double workouts.  But during break, I have no excuse!

I'm also going to work on getting my milk supply back up a bit.  It's definitely taken a dip since I started working out and restricting my calories.  Part of this is because I haven't been getting up in the middle of the night to pump, but even when I do set an alarm, I sleep through the damn thing!  We've also been slowly introducing solids to Adalei, so while she doesn't need quite as much milk from me, I'm not ready to stop nursing her either.  So I just need to give it a little more attention this next week.

See you next week my friends!

Current weight: 188.4 lbs.

Weight to 10% goal: 12.9 lbs.

❤️ Kayleen

progress.

-1.4 pounds!  Wooooo!

It may have even been more, but I had 2 blue moons at Ale House last night ;)  Totally worth it though.  

Thanks FitBit!  :)

My 21 Day Fit workouts are probably going to morph into 30 Day workouts by the time I make it through the first round, but I'm okay with that.  Adalei had a bad day on Sunday, and by the time she got to bed, I was ready for bed.  Tuesday my lower back was really sore, so I took the day off.  I figured taking an extra break was better than injuring my back more.

Dinners have been a bit of a struggle for me lately.  Justin's work schedule changed again and he's working all nights right now.  If I don't have him to cook dinner for, then I don't really make dinner.  A bowl of cereal or something frozen I can throw into the oven is what I end up eating.  While these things aren't the highest in calories, they're not super great nutritionally either.  I need to get back into making crockpot recipes, that way I eat something more well-rounded, and then Justin has something to eat besides fish sticks when he gets off of work.  :)

Adalei and Justin are both napping right now, so its a perfect time to get my Lower Fix workout in.  See you next week!

Current weight: 190 lbs.

Weight to 10% goal: 14.5 lbs.

❤️ Kayleen

Working

I did five 21 Day Fix workouts in a row!!!
They're killer, and I've been doing more of the modified workouts than not, but work is work!

My weigh-in this morning yielded no difference from last week,  which was slightly disappointing, but definitely not the end of the world.  I'm not going to stress about it quite yet.  I'm still trying to figure out my sweet spot for amount of calories I should be consuming.

Googling around, it's says breastfeeding moms should be eating 1,500-1,800 calories a day, with most moms leaning toward the higher end.  I originally set my limit to 1,510/day, and quickly realized I'm hungry all the day time and was going over everyday by about 200 calories.  So I adjusted my limit to 1,700/day.  I want to lose weight and get into shape, but maintaining my milk supply is equally, if not more important at this point.

I checked my measurements, and my waist and thigh are both an inch smaller than a week ago!  Wooooooo.  (My bust was half an inch smaller, but that could have more to do with milk supply, so I'm not going to celebrate that....haha).

I'm feeling encouraged that I'm on the right track, even with nothing on the scale to show for it.  :D
See you next week!

Current weight: 191.4 lbs.
Weight to 10% goal: 15.9 lbs.

❤️Kayleen

Numbers and such

I recently joined an accountability Facebook group with a couple of gals I went to high school with. Part of it is posting before photos and measurements as a way to track progress.

I won't lie, my first reaction to the photos and my numbers was uuggghhhhhhhhhh. I just had a baby (excuse, I know!) But it's okay!  I'm working on this, headed for change.  Skinnier days ahead!

Measurements (in inches): 
neck: 12.5 
bicep: 13.5 
bust: 39
natural waist: 36
hips: 44.5 
thigh: 23.5
calf: 15.5

I did the first workout in the 21 Day Fix workout plan tonight.  Holy shit, it's hard!  But I'm excited to see results.   The workout calendar for the program has me working out every night.  So I'm adjusting my goal for this week to stick to the calendar and not take a break.  Yay for ass-kicking!

♡Kayleen

Starting off right

And your current weight is...
beep beep beep beep beep beep beep...
*gasps*
--cuts to commercial--

Sorry, Justin and I have been watching The Biggest Loser again, and I love that silly show.  I groan when the weigh-ins aren't great, and cheer when the contestants pull double digit numbers.  When they start sharing the "whys" of their obesity, I tear up with them.

Left: 2009 at 225 lbs.; Right: 2012 at 140 lbs.

Anyways, my current weight is 191.4!  I've lost 3.6 pounds since my weigh-in on Wednesday!  *does a happy dance*

I've had a lot of "oh shit" moments this past week when it comes to tracking and logging my food.  There were no brainers like no break room sweets or skip the belgium waffle when I go visit Marlo at work on Thursday--but small things like coffee creamer and that second snack while sitting in Pāʻia traffic were a lot of extra calories!

My biggest food struggle as of late is the reintroduction of gluten into my diet.  I completely cut it out of my diet 3 years ago due to how awful it made me feel.  Debilitating stomach pains stopped as soon as I ceased eating it.  I know there has been a lot of controversy about whether or not gluten "intolerance" is even real, but it worked for me.  After getting pregnant, I developed a lactose intolerance that literally only lasted as long as I was pregnant.  I had read that people who had a hard time with gluten were "magically" able to handle it after baby, due to all the crazy things hormones do to your body, so I gave it a try.  Yup, I can eat gluten again.

Being able to suddenly eat a food group that you've previously been "deprived" of is dangerous.  Doughnuts?  Yay!  Waffles?  Yes.  REAL BREAD?!  Woooooo.  Unfortunately, consuming these things in large quantities isn't conducive to health or weight loss.  I don't have any immediate plans to go gluten-free again, but moderation is key from now on!

My goal for next week is 4 days of activity.  Adalei and I went for a walk Thursday night, but last night I was sooooo tired.  Should have went walking anyways since my little stinker of a daughter didn't go to bed until 11:30.  :p

Current weight: 191.4 lbs.
Weight to 10% goal: 15.9 lbs.

♡Kayleen

Quick Start

Aloha all.  Just a quick starting post to get me back into blogging and tracking.  

Starting weight is 195.  Because I'll always be a Weight Watchers girl at heart, my first goal will be the traditional 10% of my starting weight, which is 19.5 pounds.

I've downloaded my fitness pal and will be using that to track my food and water intake.

Also booted up my fit bit that my sister Lauren got for me LAST Christmas...haha.

I'm feeling ready to get this going and to conquer it.  A more touchy feeling post later, I promise.

♡Kayleen