Posts by mlejoygrn

Hello all you awesom Stay at homers! I want to join your group. I know I'm a little late, but my kids just started school and I think I am at a point where I can put some time into this task of losing weight again.

My name is Emily. I am turning 30 in a couple of months and I have 5 really great kids. My oldest is about to turn 8 and the baby is 4 months. 3 girls, 2 boys. I love staying home and wouldn't change it for anything! After I had baby #4 I lost about 60 pounds counting calories and felt great. Even while I was pregnant this time I felt amazing. Now, I feel like a deflated balloon...gotta love that feeling!

I am 5'4" and weigh 177. I'm hoping to get back down to 150. Can I join this group? It seems like the right fit for my life.

My mini goal this week is to get out and walk every day with my kids...so far so good, and to stay under my 2000 calorie goal. (I'm breastfeeding).

My favorite healthy recipe is a lunch "salad" for crackers..

1 fresh tomato chopped

1 fresh green bell pepper chopped

fresh chopped basil

1/2 c. diced mozzarella cheese

splash of olive oil

splash of balsamic glaze

Eat on bagel chips or crackers, or just with a spoon. So fresh and yummy!!!

I guess it's time for the weigh in!

Starting: 179

Weigh in #1: 179

This is hard to start back up. I hate that I can't really exercise yet since I just had a csection, and I wish there was a way to know for sure how to calculate my daily calorie needs while breastfeeding.

I think maybe once I start working out I will see results. Also, I have got to overcome my insane need for sugar right now! It's driving me crazy. I don't have the same weakness with beer that so many of you have (never had alcahol in my life and I'm 29), but I try to relate to you with my addiction to sweets.

I spent the day at the zoo yesterday with my husband and kids. Thought that would help me, since I was on my feet all day and thought I was gonna die last night I was so exhausted, but I guess the constant munching on snacks evened me out!

Good for you for wanting to get started! The key is to listen to your body and don't overdo it. I had baby #4 2 years ago. She was my 2nd c-section. 5 weeks after I had her, I set a goal to do a triathlon when she was 11 weeks old. It was a very short triathlon and I didn't do it to win it, but it helped to set a goal. I would swim/bike/jog each day of the week. I just would do a different one each day. I didn't start trying to tone my body till  she was 4 or 5 months old. I just stuck to the calorie counting and cardio stuff.

Baby #5 was born by c-section 3 weeks ago and I'm starting to get the itch to get my body back! I am still way too tired and sore to do much, but at least I have the desire. I just have to be patient. I am just getting started with the calorie counting now and then I will start jogging as soon as the doctor says I can. My goal this time is to do a half marathon in October. I am not a runner at all, but discovered after my last baby that it is the most effective excercise for me. I did this same half marathon 13 weeks pregnant so it will be fun to do again. I also have to make sure I'm eating enough calories and drinking enough water so I can breastfeed successfully.

Good luck. I hope any of that advice helps. The key is to get moving and listen to your healing body!

Good morning! Hope you all had a great weekend. We had a nice one around here. We went to St. Louis for the day on Saturday, then Sunday was a day to relax and go to church. Morning sickness has hit with a vengeance! I hate this part of being pregnant. It usually only lasts about 5 or 6 weeks for me, so hopefully I only have a few more weeks to go!

I ran 9 miles on Friday which felt pretty amazing. Today I'm supposed to do some sprint training, but I'm having a hard time feeling like doing it. Maybe this afternoon... My weight this morning was 150. My goal is to not gain in this first trimester. I don't want to lose either, just maintain. I figure this baby is the size of a peanut or smaller, so there's no reason to gain a few pounds yet!

Shan-How are you feeling? Did you make it through the last couple of weeks alright? I can't imagine what you must be going through. We heard about the plane crash in Cedar City. A relative nearly joined that dermatology practice a couple of years ago. We also have been following the story of the couple in the plane crash in Arizona. We know them personally from school at BYU. They have 4 children our kids ages and are both fighting for  their lives. You have been in my thoughts and prayers. Especially with this hard anniversary of your son's disappearance. Know that our family prays for you.

Hope you all have a good one this week and that you can finish the week with that great feeling of satisfaction from a week well lived taking care of yourselves!

It's Tuesday night and all the kids are asleep. Hallelujah! Hats off to every single mom out there. I am so grateful for my husband and the support that he offers. Even though he is SOOOO busy with grad school, I at least have the emotional support I need!

So, anyway, things are going well in the Green Household without Dad. I am getting my runs in, but the eating is terrible! I have gotten really lazy with logging since I got back from vacation which is bad. I justify myself by thinking  that I'm running so much that I doin't really need to log as strictly, but it is good to double check on things!

Also, I don't know what to tell you all about changing our group. I feel like a pretty tight knit group to support eachother now. It's nice to know that when I don't check in, I'm missed, and that I get excited to see how you're all doing and be inspired by you! At the same time, I don't know how long I'll be losing weight now because Green #5 is on the way! I just barely found out a few days ago. Besides my hubby and I, you're the only people who will know till we get through the 1st trimester. We are thrilled and just a little anxious. We know that the Lord knows what we can handle and hope all goes well and this little one is healthy! I'll keep you posted.

Keep up the great work! I'm gonna keep training for my half marathon and still reach that goal! I've got a 1 hour run tomorrow. Have a great Wednesday!

Hello! I have missed you all so much on this site! I had such an amazing vacation in Arizona and California. It's taken some adjusting the last few days to get back into the swing of things, but it feels really good to be home. My 2 "big kids" start school tomorrow- 1st grade and Kindergarten. They'll be gone all day, so I'll just have my 2 little girls during all those daytime hours. Should be fun and very different to only have 2 around.

It's been fun to see how all of you are doing. Awesome job keeping up with the healthy  habits even during summer. It feels amazing to have such healthy habits.

I took my scale with me on vacation to Arizona because I wanted to keep track of how I was doing and keep myself in check. It worked! When I left July 15th, I weighed 152 pounds and today I weigh 148.2!!!! It feels so good. I'm registered to run a half marathon in October which is something I never thought my old dancer's body would be able to handle, but I know I can do it now. I've got to get more serious about my runs now that I'm home.

Hope you all have a great week. I'll be checking in much more often now!

Happy Thursday All!

I have been here in Arizona for a little over a week now and it has been wonderful! I love being close to my family and letting my kids get to know all of their cousins.

I spent a few days relaxing from the working out and eating great, but am now going strong once again. I've been going to the Y here to work out and have been keeping track of what I'm eating. I figure I'll feel a lot better at the end of this long vacation month if I've improved my health instead of letting myself go!

Anyway, I hope you're all working hard and doing something each day to be healthy! I'll check in again. Hopefully tomorrow for my weigh in!

Happy Wednesday night all! I'm sorry I've been MIA lately. I'm babysitting a 1 year old all week, so that makes 5 kids under the age of 6 all day. Don't feel much like doing anything once my kids are all asleep except for sleeping and mornings have been way too hectic!

I have been to the gym every day this week and am up to 9 miles run so far for the week. A friend and I are meeting at my house at 7 am to do a 4 mile outdoor run! I'm a little nervous, but excited. Should feel good afterward. Wish I was seeing more weight shedding off. I did take some measurements with my measuring tape today. I wrote down all my measurements back in October when I tried slim in 6. I can't believe the change! The 33 pounds lost doesn't seem like as much as all of the inches:

Waist-down 9 inches

hips-down 8 inches

bust-down 9 inches (boo hoo! My poor chest is non-existant now that I've stopped nursing!)

thighs- down 2.5 inches each

upper arms- down 2 inches each

Now to just get rid of these last 7 pounds! Mahogany- YOU ROCK! I am so proud of you. You'll have to let us all know if maintaining is as much work as losing. I've wondered if it will be.

Diva-When I was in Chicago, I was staying with friends who live right across Randolph St. from the Millenium Park. It's crazy to think you work so close. I should have come said hi.

I'll check in on Friday, y'all. Have a good one!

Hey Mahogany, You are inspiring! I have been working my booty off this week at the gym to slip down into the 140's and somehow I have managed to put on a couple of pounds.... I think it should be back down by tomorrow though. I can't believe how hard I have worked out this week. My goal was to run 12 miles total this week, plus weights, and I did 12.4 miles plus weights every day! The gym is closed tomorrow, so I had to cram it all in 4 tough workout days. I loved it though!

It is so fun hearing about all of your vacations. I get to go to Arizona in 12 days to visit all my family and stay for a month! I am really looking forward to it. I'm also a little anxious. Last time I saw my family I weighed about 194 pounds and now I'm at about 150. I think it's really easy to slip into old familiar habits when you're in old familiar surroundings. It should be a fun challenge. Luckily my Y membership can be used there too and the Y in Arizona is about a mile from my parent's house.

Looking forward to tomorrow's weigh ins! Now, off to check out Diva's pictures...

Looks like I'm still talking to myself! Where is everybody? I know summer can be very unpredictable as far as schedules go, but come on people! We're supposed to be helping eachother stick with it!

My goal this week is 12 miles running. I went this morning and started off the week right with 3 good hard miles in just  under 30 minutes. It was hard, but felt good after. Also, my kids were happy in the daycare so I actually got to do a lot of machines to work on my upper body. I almost couldn't carry my kids out to the car. Feels great! What are your goals for the week? Hope it's a great one!

Good to see a couple of people actually sticking with this! We've been gone camping this week. It was lots of fun, but rained all night on us. Luckily our tent was relatively water proof!

I'm looking forward to this week's weigh in. I have been very motivated and working pretty hard. Not much junk going in my face which is a good thing! I will post my weigh in tomorrow. I missed last Friday cause I was on vacation with my handsome husband for our 8th anniversary.

Keep plugging away! We will get there.

Good morning!

I had a good weekend of flood clean-up projects. Didn't make my goal of being down to 150 by the 15th. Still 3 pounds to go. My goal this week is to run 10 miles  or more. I've already been to the gym this morning and got in 1.8 miles before my little girl needed me in the daycare. I'll go run another mile tonight. Sunday is our 8 year wedding anniversary and we're going camping over night Friday just the two of us, and then to a theme park all day. No kids. It sounds like heaven to me!

Hope you all have a great week. Set a goal this week and stick with it. We can all feel better about ourselves at the end of the week! Keep up the inspiring work, and Kiba, I know you'll hit your goal this week. You are awesome!

Hope you all had good weekends. Our city was flooded pretty bad over the weekend. 10 inches of rain in less than 12 hours. We are grateful our home didn't have any damage, but there are entire neighborhoods 10 minutes from us that have been completely destroyed. We have friends who were evacuated by boat and their home is a total loss, along with all of their neighbors. It's a bit frightening to be so close. The clean up will take quite awhile. Our church will be manning the red cross call center in town this week. One of my friends was driving shortly after the rain stopped to check on a friend and saw a mother walking down a flooded street with all the belongings she could carry and 2 small children wearing floaties. I guess all we can do now is pray for a break from the storms and get busy drying things out!

Hope you all have a great week. Get to the gym or just get outside and sweat! It will feel so good....after!

Good Morning and Happy Friday! I guess I'll start the weigh ins.

Last week: 156.4

Today: 154.8

Heading the right way once again. I think I've undone the candy expo fun! Hope you all have healthy and happy weekends. You are all inspirational. Please keep posting!

Good for you rdjustice! That's my ultimate goal weight also. I feel like I am probably capable of losing a little more than that, but realistically, as a mom of 4 little ones, I think 145 is enough! Last week was my baby's first birthday. I can't believe she's already 1. That means a year ago, right before I gave birth, I weighed 212 pounds! Now I'm at 154. You can totally do it. Slow and steady and it will stay off. Keep up the great work!