21 Day Fix: Week 1

Back on the horse again and week one is now behind me!  It feels good.

tracking my containers....

I attempted to start back at working out at 6 weeks postpartum and it was an epic fail.  Honestly I should have known better since I know myself and this is the 3rd kiddo.  The postpartum hormones always hit me around 2-3 months and I go just a *little* bit crazy.  With Leeland, it resulted in postpartum depression, with Hayden and Joel it has resulted in a whirlwind of emotions from anxiety, to complete irrational thinking, and loads and loads of crying at the "silliest" of things....  silly now.  They weren't silly then!  I know this about myself.... and I'm sure Daniel would be able to speak to it even better than I can.  (Poor guy!)  So anyway, I started back then, got a few days in and ended in a tear fest on the couch.

So now here I am, about 4 1/2 months postpartum getting back in my groove.  I would LOVE to run another half marathon this year, but we'll see how life goes with 3 kids.  Joel isn't exactly on a schedule-- he's got a little bit of a routine, but he mostly just eats and naps whenever he needs to for now which makes planning hard.

Also as much as I would LOVE to look like this again which is where my results had brought me prior to getting pregnant with Joel, I'm keeping it realistic and knowing that I need calories to make milk for the baby and most say that it's harder to lose the "excess" after the third.  The weight didn't come on over night, it took 9 months.... and while I dropped 9 pounds, 2 ounces of Joel in one night, the rest is going to be hard work.  Just a little bit crazy to think that after feeling like I had reached my goals, we had another baby.

I've written about 21 Day Fix in the past, so I won't delve into the logistics of the program and how it works.  (You can find past workout results here.)  I will say though, that this is my first time going through the program while breastfeeding.  Per Autumn's suggestions, I did my calorie calculations and then added 500 calories to accommodate me nursing.  That puts me in the third calorie range which is 1800-2099 calories.  Of course per "the fix" plan, I do NOT count any calories, only my containers.

The beautiful thing about going through it breastfeeding this time, is that there is SO much food!  It's sooo wonderful!!  And of course it's all good clean foods for baby, and good foods for my milk supply as well.

Anyway, I won't be sharing any measurements, photos or results until the end of the program, but I've got ONE week down already and I'm feeling really happy with the results so far!  You can go back to previous posts to see more about the daily workouts and the food if you want more info, I won't bore you... but for curious minds, here's a peek into what 1 day of food looks like for me.  This is everything I ate on Friday...

... Post morning workout protein.  Scivation Whey (vanilla heaven flavor) mixed with some low fat milk.

Breakfast of 2 eggs scrambled with some leafy greens (chard, kale and spinach) and an apple sliced.  And ALWAYS my coffee.  (Just a little low fat milk in it.)

Lunch of a tossed salad.  I do a combo of romaine lettuce and leafy greens (chard, kale and spinach) with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken and balsamic vinaigrette. 

Snack time-- some red seedless grapes and a rice cake with a smear of peanut butter.

Dinner, while delicious, was nothing extravagant. It was basically "clean out the fridge" night in the Kroh house and in working with what we had, I made "fried rice."  Some cauliflower took a spin in the food processor until it was rice sized, and then I added in some leftover quinoa, leftover grilled chicken, leftover roasted veggies, scrambled a couple eggs and some seasonings along with braggs liquid aminos and then topped it with some green onion.  Sounds way more difficult than it was! It was all of 5 minutes over the stove bc everything except the cauliflower were leftover in our fridge and had already been cooked.  Eating well doesn't have to be fancy-- food is fuel, just keep it simple!

And then lastly one more snack before bed.  I actually usually try to use up all of my fruits and carbs/starches (yellow container) early because I've always heard that you shouldn't have them too late in the night.... BUT I happened to be winging much of my day on Friday. I mean it was leftover night after all.  So here I was with a fruit and carb container (and my blue healthy fat container) left to round out my day and went with some oats with half a banana and pecans. 

I have to say, I've never been one to brag, and those who know me well know that I don't say this in vain, but I'm really proud of myself this week.  I have NEVER been a morning person! Never!! ... AND that includes the many years that I spent working early mornings at Starbucks.  With that said, 6 days this week, I have gotten up early and gotten my workout in before the kiddos woke up.  (The 7th day, they worked out with me.) In the past, nap time was my workout time, but with the addition of a 3rd, and with the big boys getting older, nap time looks a little bit different now so early mornings are ideal if I can continue to make them work.  It's hard to get out of bed that early, especially in the Winter when the bed is so warm and the room is so cold, but I really really hope that I can continue to make the mornings work.  It's nice to knock it out early, and I have found that I am a happier and more productive Mom because of the morning workouts.
Week 1 down.... TWO weeks to go!