Have you ever heard of "Diet Rage"?

I'm one of those people who have to work really hard to lose weight. Before I was pregnant, I was able to get to my lowest weight, but I followed a Weight Watchers (WW) plan, worked out at Bally's 4 times a week and walked at work for a 1/2 hour 3-4 times a week. See what I mean? I had to work really hard to lose 15 pounds, but I was determined to look good on my wedding day even though I was still 14 pounds away from my WW goal weight.

I became pregant 2 months after I got married. In the end, I gained 45 pounds with my pregnancy. I was still walking at work 3-4 times a week and walking on the treadmill at Bally's. It scares me to think how much weight I could have gained if I didn't exercise during my pregnancy. Everyone kept telling me it would help with my delivery and I believe it did. I was only in labor for 5 hours 45 minutes and only pushed for 45 minutes.

I went back to Weight Watchers 11 days after I gave birth to my son. I thought the weight would come off really quick. Who knew that 10 months later I would still be caring around an extra 10 pounds. In December (2007), I quit Weight Watchers because I wasn't following the program and I was wasting time and money. I decided to invest my money into a personal trainer at Bally's. I started two weeks before Christmas. I meet with the trainer twice a week and she kicks my butt. I really love it b/c she pushes me beyond the level I would push myself. I started running/walking on the treadmill for 3 miles and taking kickboxing classes at Bally's. This weekend the weather was so nice, so I pulled out my shorts and believe it or not they fit! I have a goal to lose 5 pounds by Joshua's 1st b-day, which is June 5th. We'll see what happens!

I signed up on this website that keeps track of your food intake called http://www.sparkpeople.com/. I came across this article on "Diet Rage" and thought it was interesting. I really made me think about the way I go about losing weight. I'm the type of person who weighs in and asks "Are we there yet?", then becomes frustrated because it's not happening fast enough.

The frustration that builds on the road to weight loss: Diet Rage. Think about your dieting history. Does it give you the same feeling as an exasperating traffic jam? You never quite get where you want to go as fast as you want to get there. You get aggravated, yell (usually at yourself), and see people in other lanes going faster than you (how do they DO that?!), and it usually ends up ruining your day. Here’s the lesson: Getting frustrated with your diet does no more good than getting frustrated in traffic. It just makes you unhappy, unsuccessful and tense.By the time I got to work (it was a long commute), I noticed a lot of things that we, as weight loss veterans, can learn from traffic jams.

Next time you start to feel frustrated with your weight loss progress, keep these "lessons of the road" in mind:

• Pay less attention to how much further you have to travel. Stop asking yourself "are we there yet?" You’ll get there when you get there. Instead, look at the scenery, think about life, carry on a conversation, sing along with the radio, or simply be thankful for how far you’ve come.
• The journey is always more fun with a passenger. Have you asked anyone along for the ride?
• You know the route you need to take to reach your weight loss goals. It’s already mapped out. As long as you stay pointed in the right direction, you’ll get there. Even in the worst traffic jams, you still get to your destination at some point. It’s the same way with dieting – just a matter of time. It may take longer than you first expected, but you will get there.
• There will always be periods of stopping and starting. It’s something that you should just anticipate and allow for. No use getting upset or stressed about not making progress. It’s a normal part of the journey.
• Sometimes, you’ve just gotta go with the flow of what’s going on around you. Life can present some situations that you really can’t do anything about. When that happens, staying straight and steady – doing the best that you can – will keep you on track and sane. In traffic, impatient people stop, change lanes, weave in and out of other cars, driving themselves and everyone else crazy – and in the end, usually don’t get any farther along than you do by staying put and going with the flow.
• Shortcuts never work.
• Driving too fast is dangerous. That’s why they call it "crash" dieting. Slow down, take what life gives you, and make sure you arrive at your destination in good health.

Finally, I have time to blog!


Well alot has happened, since the last time I posted. The baby you see in the January 2007 ultrasound was born June 5, 2007 at 2:45 pm. His name is Joshua Michael. It's hard to believe he's almost 10 months old!

Here's Joshua's 3-month and 6-month pictures. I don't have his 6-month pictures online. (It was a first time mom blunder!) As with everything, you learn from your mistakes!

Long Time No Post!

Wow, how time flies! The last 3 1/2 months have been SO busy. From January to the middle of March, I was busy finishing up my master's degree in business. It had to be the toughest semester ever. I was taking two online classes, working full-time, "trying" to keep order in my house, and being pregnant on top of it. I'm happy to say that I made it! I graduated from school with A's in both classes and finished up with a 3.7 GPA! Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend commencements, since our baby is due May 30th and commencements are June 2nd. I did speak to the school and they said I could walk in January 2008, but I haven't decided what I want to do.

After I finished school, the first order of business was to get my baby registry started at Babies R' Us. I found it overwelming when I first walked into the store. I didn't have a clue what half the items on the shelves were. I had my friend, Briana, walk through the store with me and she gave me suggestions on what to buy. It made things much easier once I went back to register with Jeff. I walked through the store and had him help me pick out the big stuff. I didn't think he would care much about receiving blankets and changing pads. Jeff was like a kid in a candy store. He wanted to register for everything. He actually picked out a bib that said "Chick Magnet" and a $120 ExerSaucer! I went back to Babies R' Us about 5 times before I was finally finished with my registry. It was so hard for me to pick out items that weren't blue b/c we're having a boy. I wanted to buy more greens and yellows, but I couldn't bring myself to it.

My mom threw me a baby shower on April 15th at Pasquel's Restaurant. In all I had 23 people attend; mostly long-time friends, relatives, work friends, and a handful of my mom's friends. The food was awesome and I was really happy with the service from the restaurant. Jeff and I received lots of nice gifts for the baby.

Here's a list of what we got:

Two Detroit Tiger outfits, a stuff rabbit in a basketball uniform, a bank, 2 picture frames, 2 diaper bags, 5-6 outfits, burp bibs, teething ring, an exerisaucer, a hi-chair, diaper genie, diaper changing pad w/ 2 covers, 2 books, a calendar of the first year, cash, baby bath, robe, boppy, a pack of #2 size diapers, a homemade blanket and a bassinet.

My 2nd shower is this Sunday; May 6th. Jeff's mom is throwing the party at her sister's house. It sounds like she'll have roughly 30 people attending. I checked my registry today and it doesn't seem like anyone has purchased anything from it this weekend. I just hope someone buys our travel stroller system b/c we need our infant car seat. Maybe some people will give us gift certificates, then we can buy it ourselves. It's really expensive $300.

I just went to another baby shower today for my friend, Sarah. She is due 4 days after me on June 4th. It's alot of fun to share this experience with another "first time" mom. She had her shower at BD Mongolian's BBQ. It was SO good. It looked as though she received many nice gifts and is ready for her baby to arrive. The shower started at 1:00 pm and was over at 3:00 pm. I believe this was the FASTEST shower I had ever been to.

Tomorrow is a BIG day for Jeff and I. It's our 3rd ultrasound. I'm very excited to see how the baby is doing and how big he is. From now on, I'll have an appointment every week until the baby arrives. I'm just not so excited to drive home from the other side of the world. It takes 45 minutes to get home from the doctor's office! It's my own fault b/c I didn't want change doctors once I became pregnant. I felt every comfortable with this office and my doctor, so I didn't want to change. I'm so happy I'll actually get to see my regular doctor tomorrow. I haven't seen her since my first prenatal appointment. I always get stuck with the men doctors who I don't like so much.

I'll try to update my blog more often. It's just so hard to motivate myself and sit down and write. I'm either too tired or my husband is hogging the computer.

Announcing Our Bouncing Baby Boy!
















Here's the latest pictures from my ultrasound on Tuesday (1/9). We just found out that we're having a baby BOY. He doesn't have a name yet, but we call him by his nickname, "peanut".

Everyone seemed to guess it was a boy. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I guessed it was a girl, but the further along I became the more I started to feel it was a boy. Both our families guessed it was a boy too.

When the ultrasound tech announced we were having a boy, I had never seen Jeff so happy in my life. He was in tears b/c he really hoped for a boy. Honestly, we really didn't care if we were having a boy or a girl we just wanted a healthy baby.

I'm feeling great these days; trying to eat healthy and exercise as much as I can tolerate. The doctor did mention that my placenta was low-lying, but it was common for someone in their second trimester. It will move, but we don't want it to move over my cervix b/c that will cause problems. According to the Baby Center website, that only 10 percent of women who have a low-lying placenta in their second trimester will have a low-lying placenta in their third trimester. I was happy to read that.

I can finally feel the baby move. It's really cool! I don't have the fluttering that everyone seems to explain, but it's a kick or a punch in my lower abdomen. When we were having the ultrasound, "peanut" wouldn't hold still to have his picture taken. He was moving all over the place. You can tell he's related to Jeff...hyper!

Here's are some pictures of the baby waving at the camera and pictures of his foot.

On the day of the ultrasound, the office was testing out a new 4-D software, so we got some really cool shots. The baby looks a little spooky only b/c he doesn't have any body fat on him.

Here's what is happening with the baby this week:

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

19 Weeks Pregnant

I've been so bad at blogging my pregnancy, but I have been journaling in my "Pregnant Journal Book". I try to write down how I'm feeling, my weight, moods, cravings, and what's new with Jeff and I. This week I can definitely feel the baby moving around. It's a relief b/c before I was always wondering how the baby was doing. At least this time I didn't have to go to the doctor's office to find out everything is going great. This Tuesday is a big day for Jeff and I. We have a doctor's appointment and we're having our big ultrasound - we can find out the sex of our baby! We're really excited about it. Jeff and I have been thinking about and even dreaming about it. We both think it's a boy, so we'll be in shock if it's a girl. I don't care what I'm having as long as the baby is healthy. Right now, Jeff and I are having a hard time coming up with names. We both really like the name Cole Michael, but everyone in the family hates it. Really...why should we care, we both really like it. I also really like Christian Michael too. Jeff was on the fence about that name. As for a girl's name, I really like Autumn, but Jeff said someone on his father's side named their kid the same name. I was really upset b/c I really like the name. I don't have any other names for a girl picked out. I need to get a baby book of names, so we can come to an agreement. It will make it easier when we know what we're having...I cannot wait!!!

Tomorrow, I start my last semester of school. I'm taking two online classes. My family thinks I'm nutz for taking two classes while I'm pregnant, but I figured out that I couldn't wait to take a class in Spring b/c I would be giving birth before the class finished and I didn't want that hanging over my head. It would have been too stressful. I rather go through the 11 weeks of heck and be done with it. I'll be finished March 22!!!! Yahoo!!!

Here's what happening with the baby this week:

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

No more Weight Watchers :0(

Well, Saturday, December 23rd was my last day of Weight Watchers. I let my leader in on my little secret (I'm 4 months pregnant) the Saturday before and she said I could no longer attend Weight Watchers. I wish I would have held out longer, since I'm did NOT want to quit. I begged her to let me attend the meetings without weighing in, but she said it was a liability to the company. She did introduce me to Carol, a gal in my WW class, and suggested I sign up with Carol's WW message board on google. Carol sent me an invitation to join the group and asked me to give a little introduction of myself (here's a copy).

New to the WW Group

Just a little about my WW journey...I've been attending Weight Watchers
off and on for over 10 years. As a kid, I didn't have a weight problem
until I reached the 5th grade. From then on, I always seemed to carry
an extra 10-15 pounds. I finally reached a healthy weight in high
school b/c I was very active with sports. When I began college, my
weight started to creep back between studying and socializing. After
two years at a community college, I transferred to Central Michigan
University and gained an additional 15 pounds by eating unhealthy foods
from the cafeteria, late night snacking, and drinking. I was already
somewhat overweight at the beginning of the year, so the extra weight
wasn't what I needed on my 5'4 frame. I left CMU after one year and
moved back home to attend Oakland University. I joined my first WW
class in Troy (Big Beaver/Rochester) in September 1996. I had lost 20
pounds in the program and felt great. I quit the program and felt I
could do it "on my own", but I only found myself gaining all my weight
back one year later. Year after year, I joined WW thinking this was
the year I was finally going to lose the weight, but I was never able
to keep it off for good.

I joined the WW at-work program for awhile, which I really liked b/c it
was convenient and I really enjoyed meeting new people. It also seemed
to keep me on track b/c I had the support I needed every day. Our
attendance for the at-work program didn't pick up b/c we had so many
lifetimers, so they canceled the class. We had quite the success in
our class, but I still never reached my lifetime status. In all
honestly, I was glad the class ended b/c I wasn't inspired by the
leader. Her classes were all the same...she would talk about her
family or what was going on in her life for first 15 minutes of class,
then talked about the WW topic for the last 15 minutes. The best thing
about her class was the recipes she or someone else would bring in. I
got so many great WW recipes that I still use today.

I joined another WW class in 2005 w/ a friend from work. My leader,
Sherry, had all the energy I needed to get back on the WW bandwagon. I
started following the WW points program and loved it. I became more
focused on losing weight and getting fit when I got engaged in August
of that same year. I changed my WW membership to the Warren location
in November 2005. For the first time, I felt that I finally found a
class and a leader I really liked. I actually looked forward to
Saturday mornings b/c I got my inspiration I needed to get me through
another week of losing weight. I started to lose more weight (29
pounds total) and reached a personal goal; I was at my lowest weight in
10 years before my wedding day. I have NEVER felt so good in my life.
Three things contributed to my big weight loss; healthy eating, exercise
and my WW meetings. My husband is a fantastic cook and prepares
healthy meals for the both of us. He doesn't have a weight problem,
but he likes to eat healthy. This makes life easy for me. I have my
own network of workout buddies; my two girlfriends from work who I walk
with 3-4 days a week for 30 minutes; my college friend who I meet at
Bally's 2-3 days a week, and my husband (and dog) who I walk with at
least 5 days a week.

In June, I only had 15 pounds to lose before I became a lifetime
member. When I got back from my honeymoon, I was determined to reach
my lifetime status. I only lost and gained the same few pounds over
the next two months. In the mist of my journey on becoming a lifetime
member, I became pregnant. I kept it a secret for awhile b/c I knew WW
would not allow me to continue. I started to feel bad every time I got
on the scale when the lady would say "you're up again". "We'll get you
back" and handed me a journal. I was at the end of my membership, so I
spoke my leader, Denise, and told her my dilemma. She said that I
wasn't suppose to be there and I couldn't come back until I had the
baby. This was my saddest day. She suggested that I talk to Carol and
sign up for this message broad, so here I am. I'm not sure how I'm
going to get through the next 5 months without my WW meetings, so I'll
look for inspiration here to keep me focused on gaining a "healthy"
weight. I'm already into my second trimester and my doctor said I'm
right on target with my weight gain. After working so hard to get the
weight off, it's SO HARD to watch it come back. I try not to focus on
the number b/c I'm going to gain weight regardless. I'm still working
out with all my workout buddies and I'm not slowing down until my body
tells me to. I also bought a Denise Austin Pregnancy Workout Video and
look forward to using it when the weather gets bad. If you haven't
heard of her, you should check out her workout show on Lifetime from
7-8 am. It's awesome! It's low impact and she's always changing her
routine. I have never seen a repeated show. Here's her website:
www.deniseaustin.com

I'm hoping this message board will get me through the next 5 months. I decided I was going to weigh myself every Saturday morning and keep track of my weight gain myself. I created a pregnancy weight chart and so far I'm on schedule. Gaining weight during this pregnancy has been the most difficult thing for me. I've worked so hard to get almost 30 pounds off my 5'4 figure only to see it return. I have to keep in mind this is going to happen regardless, so I shouldn't stress over it.

Our First Thanksgiving!

I cannot believe Thanksgiving has already gone and passed. It was our first Thanksgiving together as an old married couple. We decided that we would have Thanksgiving at our house, since Jeff, my little Bobby (Betty) Crocker, wanted to make Thanksgiving dinner. I was able to contribute by ordering a "fresh" turkey. Neither one of us ever had a fresh turkey before and thought it was be nice to try. We didn't know the size of the turkey, since it was not going to be killed until Tuesday of that week. I know that sounds terrible, sorry. I picked up our turkey after my doctor appointment on Wednesday. Well, we got a 20 pound turkey! It was the biggest bird I had ever seen in my life. Jeff and I were worried it won't fit in our roaster pan. When I got home with the turkey, Jeff and I pulled out our new stainless-steel pan that we got as a wedding gift and discovered it did not have a lid. Jeff was freaking out at this point and said we needed to take the pan back to Bed, Bath & Beyond and purchase a pan with a lid. We went to the store and couldn't find anything that was half as nice as what we had. We talked to several people in the store and some suggested we put foil over the bird, but one said to buy a cooking bag. I wasn't excited about the foil idea, but had heard about the cooking bag from a friend from work. She said she cooks her turkey in a cooking bag every year and it turned awesome every time. We went back home with our same roaster pan. I was so tired that night, but Jeff wanted to make our apple pies. I wanted to blow it off to the morning, but he reminded me we won't have time. We stayed up until 1:00 am when our pies came out of the oven. Doesn't this guy understand that I'm pregnant and 10:00 pm is my limit?

Bright and bushy tailed my little Bobby Crocker was up by 9:00 am excited to cook his turkey. He still had one dilemma; was he going to use his mom's turkey pan, use the foil trick, or breakdown and purchase the cooking bag? The answer: he broke down and bought the cooking bag like my friend told him to do. My husband likes to weigh all his options before he does ANYTHING! I'm different or just impatient, but I make decisions based on my gut feeling (as my Dad says "I shoot from the hip") I've been like that my whole life and I think I've made pretty good decisions. I knew my friend is a wonderful cook and I trusted her suggestion with the cooking bag. I wouldn't have waited until the last minute to decide, but I guess that's the difference between men and women. Who knows?! We washed roaster pan and got the turkey ready (brushed butter all over it and stuffed it for Jeff's Dad - Yuck!). My mom always put the stuffing in the turkey and I never ate it b/c it was mushy and gross. Jeff's mom made the stuffing last year and I was so happy it was outside the turkey. I loved it! I feel bad b/c she has to make stuffing twice, but it's so worth it.

Here's some pictures of our turkey and look at my dog, Jake, in the second picture. He wanted to help with the turkey too.




The turkey finally made it into the oven around 10:30 am. Here's a picture of Jeff checking up on his masterpiece.


My brother was the first to arrive. He hadn't been over in awhile, so it was nice to visit with him before the others arrived. Marylou and Jim (my in-laws) were next to arrive. My brother and Jim watched the Lions games while Jeff and his mom worked on getting the rest of the dinner ready. I basically helped when they needed me, since I'm not much help in the kitchen. Jeff banned me from our oven awhile back, when I tried to make a Lean Pocket with the microwave cover on it in the stove. He freaked. Well, what can I say, I usually microwave everything and Jeff never uses the microwave.

Anyway, my mom finally made it to the house. She made a wrong turn and got a little lost on her way. My mom helped with the gravy, since the rest of us didn't know how to make turkey gravy. We decided to place the dinner on the table in a buffet style b/c we had so much food.

Here's a picture of our 20 pound turkey coming out of the oven.


Here's a group picture before we ate dinner.


Here's a picture of our beautiful table.


Here's my brother and mom filling their plates.




Here's a picture of Jeff enjoying his dinner.


Wow..the dinner turned out so good. My husband did a wonderful job making his first fresh turkey. We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole, and corn.

After dinner, we just hung out and looked through the store ads. I didn't find anything I really needed, so I told Jeff we were sleeping in on Friday. Jeff's sister Christie and her daughter Kennedie stopped by for dessert. We hadn't seen them in so long, so it was nice to visit with them. Everyone seemed to leave around 8:00 pm. I cleaned up the kitchen, which seemed like it took me hours. Overall, it was the best first Thanksgiving with my new family.

At the end of the night, I told Jeff we needed a picture to remember this day. I love the holidays and I really enjoy spending time with my family. Just think we'll have a new family member next year at Thanksgiving dinner.