I'm not giving up this time.

[cherylwood]

Hi Nerds! My name is Cheryl, I'm a 27 year old mom of two. Currently 168, down from 183 with some healthier eating choices.

 

When I was a kid, they used to call me "zipper" - my body type was so athletic that people joked I would disappear in the woods. Puberty hit, and PCOS changed things... Then I added on birth control and antidepressants, and at 20 years old I hit 213 lbs.

 

I got down to 143 at 21 by cutting out the medications and moving more, but then I got married. I got lazy and comfortable. Back up to 180 I went...

 

Wanted to get pregnant in 2009, had to work out to cope with the PCOS. Got down to 150, got pregnant. Baby at home (followed by a second baby two years later), back up to 183 I went.

 

Now just this past weekend, I experienced a miscarriage - the loss of what would have been our third child. I decided that I was done yo-yoing, I was done playing games and making excuses, I was going to get healthy before I got pregnant again.

 

Today I am:

 

168 lbs

44 inch waist

5' 5" tall

And I smoke half a pack a day.

 

My goal isn't to get skinny, it is to get strong. I've been enthralled with lifting since I saw Staci's story here on NF months ago, and I would love to be able to lift... But I'm taking things one day at a time.

 

In the past 3 days, I've hiked 6 miles and done 3 full sets of the Beginner Bodyweight Workout (without puking!) Yes, I did knee pushups... But I'm going to be doing proper ones before I move onto the Advanced workout.

 

My workout plan is:

 

Monday, Wednesday, Friday : 2+ mile hike

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday : Beginner Bodyweight Workout

Sunday: Rest or easy walk with the kids (they're still under 4, so it will be nice and slow!)

 

My eating plan needs work. I like the *idea* of Paleo, but I find it hard to implement on a self-employed person's budget (read, rollercoaster at times!) I have to feed a family of 4, I love to cook but would prefer everyone eat the same "big" meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner. Just makes things easier. If anyone has tips for feeding a family Paleo on a budget, I'm all ears! We currently grow about 1/3rd of our produce, so I'm up for some extra work if necessary.

 

Thanks in advance for the support - excited to stop lurking on the blog and start in the community!

 

 - Cheryl

[cherylwood]

Oh, and also - this site is awesome. I have some family who are fitness nuts, and keep telling me to "get on the elliptical, because it is low impact." I'm fat, not 80 - I don't need low impact, I need to sweat! I love being outside and I want to be more strong than skinny, so I'm really glad I found this place. Yay!

[The Swedish Ninja]

Yay, welcome to the forum and the Rebellion!

 

Your goals seem well founded and reasonable, and I´m sure you´ll be able to do it. Regarding the elliptical, I'm with you, if you can run/powerwalk without pain, go for it!

 

Regarding eating cheap while on paleo, I know it can be difficult. Check out this blog, at a first glance it seems to suit you well http://thepaleomama.com/2013/10/30cheapmaindishpaleomeals/

 

Let us know if you have any questions and we'll be glad to help!

[cherylwood]

I used to be a runner, but I started to find that even kind of boring - I'm now hiking and working my way up to trail running, maybe that will be more interesting. I want to be a Ranger, so working my way up to backpacking in the mountains would be awesome! Ha!

 

I am getting a little bit confused... I take more stock in what the measuring tape says than the scale, because I know I want to gain muscle - but I still do weigh myself. Well, I didn't expect "massive" results right away, but since I got started I've...

 

Hiked over 6 miles

Done the beginner bodyweight workout

Burned at least 500 cal per day in exercise

Taken in 1200-1400 calories per day, depending on how much I exercise

 

The scale shows I've lost a bit (167.6 this morning vs. 169.4 when I first started), but the measuring tape shows my waist has GAINED an inch! Hubby says I look slimmer, I feel slimmer, and I definitely feel stronger, but the measuring tape is saying that I'm busting my butt and getting FATTER in the middle.

 

So - what am I doing wrong? I have a hunch I'm probably not eating enough, but I'm trying to follow the recommendations of my app (currently using Noom Pro) which does adjust for exercise. My base level in the app is 1200 cal, and it increases by about half of my burn when I workout (so if I burn 500 cal, Noom will tell me to consume 1450 that day.) I'm not underestimating my calories, I'm pretty religious about it - if anything I'm overestimating how much I eat. I hate counting, but I've had pretty awful eating habits (including high-cal mindless snacking at night) so I wanted to try it so I can begin to understand how many calories are in what I eat.

Any advice?

[The Swedish Ninja]

First of all: The most important thing is how you feel and how you look! You say that you feel stronger, slimmer and that´s what counts. You could have measured wrong before (or now) or you could be a little bloated now, which you weren't before etc. Also, the scale can change up and down a couple of lbs over days depending on what you drink, eat, when you go to the bathroom etc. You can begin to analyse your progress when it´s been like two week, earlier than that I wouldn't care to much what different measurements say, more focus on eating right, exercising and how you feel.

 

Are you hungry? If you are you are either eating to little or the wrong types of food. I'd say it's really hard feeling "full" on 1400 cal/day if you don't cut out "white" carbs (bread, pasta, sugar, rice etc).

What do you eat on a normal day (and how much)? A rule of thumb when wanting to build muscle and lose weight is to eat 1 g of protein / lean BW. 

[cherylwood]

My diet is, to be honest, pretty freakin terrible. I don't get hungry easily, never really have which I think is part of why I snacked on autopilot so much before - I never felt hungry, but knew I had to eat... And overdid it.

 

Today for example, I've had 4 glasses of water and a can of Pepsi - and it is 3PM. I don't do this on purpose of course, I don't want to be skeletal by any means, and dinner plus an evening snack usually adds in the protein, veggies, etc. but I don't usually eat until dinner time.

 

Dinner comes and I usually do 50/50 lean protein and veggies, occasionally adding in a starch or carb usually in the form of potatoes but occasionally whole grain pasta/bread or very seldom, rice or rice noodles. I'm not a big fan of most wheat products - just don't appeal that much. I probably get 2 servings of grains a day on average.

 

My biggest killers are not eating until dinner, and soda. Granted I've cut back from 6+ a day to 1, but still. How do I know if I'm eating enough, when even at the 1050 calories I had the other day I never felt hungry? I did a 4 mile hike that day!

[cherylwood]

I think I might have figured some of the lack of progress out (I measured the same way both times, so I don't think it was that.)

 

I have a cold. I've been taking NSAIDs because of the miscarriage this week, and then added cold medicine (tylenol cold & flu) per my doc's recommendations. Add in a bunch more fluids, and I'm probably retaining water.

 

I guess that will mean big progress when I get better, because I feel about 10 lbs lighter even though I don't look it!

[The Swedish Ninja]

Ohh, I'm so sorry about your miscarriage, I didn't read your initial post carefully enough. My sincerest apologies. 

 

Also agree with your conclusions about the medicines and water retention. 

 

Progress will surly come when you get better!

[cherylwood]

Thanks! And thanks for answering all of my Q's. I loved the blog with inexpensive Paleo meals - I'm not much of a recipe/meal plan kind of person (I love being creative in the kitchen!) but it did show me that Paleo doesn't have to be all farmers markets and organic etc. etc. You do the best with what you've got, and if that is a $2 butternut squash with a lb of hamburger turned into shepards pie, then you feed your family Paleo for under $6. Reminded me that frozen veggies are fair game, too - which cuts down on a lot of my "but every time we buy lots of veggies, we end up wasting so much" argument. This community really is awesome