1 Month Mark, Saturday Check-In and Fatigue

It's weekly check-in time!  I decided to start measuring some body parts today so that I can track any progress/inches lost. This is the part where all the healthier folks can look at my stats and think "Eww! Gross! How did she ever let herself get this way?!" I know, right?! I must be crazy to constantly be putting my weight and measurements on the interwebs for all the world to critique. Oh well... it's all about accountability, folks. So here it goes:

Weight
Starting weight: 225 lbs
Last Saturday's weight: 208.6 lbs
Today's weight: 206.6 lbs
This week's weight loss: 2.0 lbs
Total weight loss: 18.4 lbs
Pounds to mini goal: 6.7 lbs

Measurements:
Upper Chest: 41.5 inches
Bust: 49 inches
Waist: 41.5 inches
Hips: 48 inches
Upper Arm: 13 inches
Thigh: 23.75 inches
Neck: 14.25 inches

 Whew! Now that that's over with, let's get real here folks. I've been at this fitness business for 32 days now, so just over 1 month. I've lost 2 lbs in the last week. My weight kind of moves up and down a bit from day to day, but the overall trend is still downward, which is good. I'm quite happy with a 2 lbs weight loss in one week. Slow and steady wins the race!

In a lot of ways, things are getting easier for me, but can I just say that it's been a bit of a rough week for me in the energy department. Mr. Baby has been having several rough nights in a row (not really sure why) and that coupled with the fact that I've had family come into town to stay with us means I pulled too many late nights cleaning, prepping, chatting and catching up with folks I haven't seen in a year and a half, and feeding baby. I've only been averaging 4-5 hours of sleep each night, and none of it is uninterrupted, so it's left me feeling really draggy this week.

The weather has cleared up around here, after raining all last week, so I've hit the pavement hard and been walking 2-4 miles each day-- usually taking kids to or from school. The first few days this week before the fatigue set in, I was booking it! I was power-walking 4.5 mph both ways, pushing 100 lbs of kids in the stroller! No, I don't have a 100 lb child. The combined weight of my 3 youngest is close to 100 lbs. Anyway, I was going strong. Then, as the week went on and my sleep deficit got greater and greater, I noticed that I was slogging along. Especially in the afternoons when I would pick my oldest up from school, I was really dragging. It felt like I was walking through sand just to get to school and back. Also, I've been ravenous the last few days. I've done pretty well and still stayed under my daily calorie goals, but some afternoons a huge bowl of anything sounds so good.

I've decided to set another mini-goal for myself this week and try to eat more protein as my afternoon snack in hopes that it will give me the fuel I need to get through the rest of my day without feeling the need to nap. Because napping isn't an option for this busy mom of 4. Are you kidding? My house would be destroyed and my children would be all Lord of the Flies on their own. It would not be pretty.

I suppose I could try to set a goal to get more sleep at night, when the rest of the world sleeps. But although I can control what time I go to bed, I have no control of how many times my children (or cat) need assistance in the night, or what time my early early rising baby will get up. Usually it's some time just before 5:00 am, and then he's up until almost 7, at which point it's time to get the other little people up for the day too. So yeah, maybe I'll shoot to be in bed by 11:00 pm each night, but I guarantee nothing in the total hours of decent sleep department. Realism has become a good friend of mine. It's not always a kind friend, but it is a consistent one.

So yeah, for now I'll focus on some higher protein foods to help fuel me through the afternoon. Do any of you have some great suggestions on protein-powered snack choices? Let me know! And I'll try to post on Monday or Tuesday with some options I've found too. Because sharing is caring, folks. Sharing is caring.

P.S. - We are getting some family photos taken this afternoon, and I'll try to upload some later on. I haven't noticed a huge difference in my appearance yet, but my husband says he's starting to see some changes. We'll see!