Lose Weight, eat more... and random pictures as usual.

To start off... a picture of my daughter, autumn:

A dietitian I know online asked the general public "what do you find to be your biggest challenge when you are trying to lose weight?" possibly not verbatim, but that was the gist.

and my response was something like "My biggest problem is that I am pretty sure there is something wrong with my body. I eat well most of the time and exercise daily and I am still overweight"

When I had my miscarriage recently I gained more than I think most people can gain if they are TRYING to gain weight, and I continued to exercise daily and didn't eat any differently. When I told my OBGYN about this he suggested reducing my sugar intake, even from natural sources like fruit, and also cutting back on simple carbs. SO, I have cut back on fruit as well as other sweets, and gone back to only using whole grain pasta and brown rice (with the exception of rare special occasions-like getting home made pasta this past weekend) . My body went crazy when I had Autumn too, and I have not understood anything it has done since I got pregnant with her. I have received lots of advice, some good- like keeping a diet and exercise journal, and some VERY bad advice, like skipping meals which most people know is one of the worst things you can do when you are trying to lose weight since it not only slows down your metabolism because it puts your body in starvation mode but it also makes it more likely that you will overeat later in the day. Many people think that the formula is as simple as eat less, and exercise more and you will lose weight. If that were the case I should wear a size 2.

and to be random, a picture of my cat sleeping in some poly-fill:

Anyway, after I sent that to my online friend she asked me if I was eating enough. I generally feel like I eat enough. I told her that currently I am exercising at different intensities but always with an elevated heart rate for about an hour a day and take in between 1100 and 1600 calories, depending on the day. (Probably averaging about 14oo, I cook from scratch so it is hard to be exact). She said that I was not eating nearly enough and that I should be eating a little less than 2000 calories on a day that I am physically active to LOSE weight. Obviously this is very counter intuitive, but it really goes back to how dumb it is to skip meals when you are trying to lose weight. My friend thinks my body is in starvation mode. I am not convinced. I still think that there is something else wrong, BUT the only time I have lost weight since I had my daughter was when I started eating more, and since it was post surgery I was exercising less, too. Anyway, I can't say I am convinced, but I am willing to try to eat a few more healthy snacks through out the day.

Sorry for everyone who is tired of hearing me talk about this struggle, and I have much meaner things to say to those who think that I am overweight because I am lazy or I eat too much... but I wont today. Most people cant understand this sort of thing unless they have gone through it, and I try to keep that in mind.

Have a good day everyone, tomorrow I will bring you some projects from my workbench!

Here's what's new in caustic threads today:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58793276/sugar-skull-tee-hand-dyed-and-printed

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58791936/squirrel-nuts-tee-shirt-hand-dyed-and

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58790455/paper-airplane-tee

♥Erica

REALLY BIG STRAWBERRYS (read:YUM)

Well, this is not a fashion Friday post. It has been a while since I have done one, but I felt like writing about something else.

I eat a lot of fruit.

What can I say, I have a terrible sweet tooth, and at least fruit is good for me.
I like most fruit. I don't care much for apples peaches or mangos but I Love strawberries, grapes, oranges, mandarins, melons, tomatoes, avocados, bananas, cherries, pomegranates... you know... Fruit.

I get sad when some of my favorite fresh fruits are out of season, but it is worth it for the bliss that comes when I have my first bite of watermelon or my first strawberry or cherry.

Much to my joy strawberries are back in season, and the first package of strawberries I bought were "California giant strawberries".


Seriously. These things were huge. I am not sure if you can tell but they are about the size of a small apple or a plum. They are not only huge, they are also DELICIOUS. I was a little worried they would be bitter or bland, but they are as sweet and luscious as they look.


I am not sure how they happened. I don't know if they are cross pollinated, or pumped with growth hormones, or if they just pick all of the really big strawberries and sell them together, but They are wonderful.

Also, I really appreciate all of my loyal blog readers.

So THANK YOU.

You are as sweet as a strawberry.

I sold two items in my new shop yesterday, and was surprised and excited. Please take a look:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CausticThreads

I still have more items to list, but I appreciate any feedback you have about my new store. I also want to have a new giveaway, so let me know if you have any ideas. I love to hear from you.

I am headed off to Tucson this afternoon to play 3 roller derby games in 2 days. I'm exhausted just thinking about it!


Well, Happy Friday, have an excellent weekend!

Xoxo.
Erica.

I've Lost 12 Lbs!

Since I had my gall bladder removed I have lost 12 pounds. I have no Idea what my gall bladder has to do with my metabolism. I have been working very hard to lose the 60lbs left of the 100 lbs I gained during my pregnancy for over a year and have had no real luck, so while 12 lbs is still 48lbs shy of my goal I am very happy to be making SOME progress since before this I had not lost or gained a single pound since my 6 week post-partum check-up. before the surgery I couldn't really eat for about 10 days, but the weight loss did not occur until a few weeks later. I can't see any lifestyle changes that would have caused the loss, I have been eating more calories than before the surgery, and I could not exercise for a little while after the surgery either. Now I am back to my regular activities, but I am so shocked and excited to have seen the scale steadily fall each time I go visit the Doctor.


It is also very confusing to me, since I didn't even lose A POUND when I was trying so hard to. Two other small changes occurred. I stopped drinking. I used to drink a glass of wine a night. I have been enjoying blue sky cherry vanilla creme soda more often, and that has way more calories than a glass of wine. I also do not eat anything with Corn Glucose (high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup etc). That actually added calories to my diet as well. I didn't eat much that had corn syrup, but I was surprised what did have it. The problem with corn syrup is that it is even worse for you than sugar, especially if you are very active and need your calories to work for you. Sugar at least turns to energy before your body stores the unused calories. Corn syrup goes directly into fat storage. The reason so many products have corn syrup is because it is much cheaper than real sugar. So, as a result of my new aversion to corn syrup I no longer eat Special-K (or the store brand equivalent) and have switched to Kashi or "Mom's Best" shredded wheat. We only get the kashi if it is on sale. I also switched from yo plait light yogurt to the smiths brand yogurt. It has way more calories, but it tastes so much better and it is healthier because it doesn't have corn syrup or aspartame in it. I have also let myself eat pizza twice in the past month (it had been about 8 mo since I last had eaten pizza) and made my delicious but fatty green chili chicken enchiladas last week, and have been enjoying the shortbread cookies adam got me for valentines day.

Anyway... don't look a gift horse in the mouth I guess, I am happy for any progress, even if I can't explain it! Maybe whatever was wrong with my body has finally worked itself out!

YAY!

Here is a cute picture of Autumn after eating a chocolate sucker that I got her from See's Candy when I got candy for Adam For Valentines day:

It looks a little like she killed something and ate it's bloody carcas or had a massive bloody nose, but that is really just chocolate.
Xoxo
Erica

Happy Friday everyone!

Well, it is Friday again, which is wonderful. These weekends come and go so fast now.

It seems like a good day for an update.

First off, after about a year of being deficient in the skating rink department the rink formerly known as Roller King is being re-opened as Roller Skate World. Albuquerque has A HUGE bingo facility. To not have a roller rink would truly be a travesty. The newly renovated roller rink is having its grand opening tonight, and Duke City Derby is planning to be highly visible and out in force tonight! I can't wait. Part of the reason I started playing roller derby is because I really LOVE to roller skate.

Also, I got the blood tests back from the doctor and everything a came back normal! It is devastating. I know that I am working harder than ever before to lose this extra baby weight and I find it impossible to believe that there is not something wrong that is causing me to retain this weight. Unfortunately this means whatever is wrong is not an easy find, or fix. In the mean time I can't really exercise more than I am during the actual derby season (we are having our off season right now) so I will have to reduce my caloric intake again, which seems ridiculous to me because we have a very healthy diet, but is the only thing I can think to do. I will also start recording my meals again. I have a follow-up appointment with the doctor in December.

I am thinking about joining weight watchers and I am also thinking about starting a fitness blog.