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

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

I feel so SPOILED

Thought I would start by mentioning that Adam wrote a VERY good blog about knives that he posted on his Hanged Man Designs blog. You can read it HERE.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was better than I could have ever imagined, and left me feeling giddy and a little spoiled. I got to spend Christmas eve with my Dad, husband, step-mom and daughter. We had a lovely meal and my dad got me a new bicycle....



not just any bike... THE BIKE. I didn't really tell him what I wanted, and he got me THE EXACT bike I wanted. It is an adorable pink Townie Electra cruiser. I saw it about 2 years ago before I knew I was pregnant with Autumn and I kind of fell in love. It is the bike that got me interested in biking (that and the fact that I HATE driving) . It is so undeniably ME. I am so excited! Adam and I and a friend of ours went for a 20 mile round trip ride on Saturday, before I hooked Autumns trailer up- Adam Towed her on my old bike, a hand me down with some very noticeable issues, but quite functional. I went for about a 14 mile ride on Monday towing Autumn, and that trip has a huge incline for a large portion of it. And of course I have been riding it to work. I LOVE IT.

On Christmas day I spent the morning with Autumn and Adam and we went to visit extended family in the afternoon. We had another very nice meal and enjoyed the company of relatives.

I received some money in the mail from my mom and so we decided that I could use it to buy screen printing supplies... somehow... even though my husband and I both know I do NOT need another hobby...

We were planning on getting a yudu setup because it looks soooo EASY, but we found photoez and they have a complete starter kit with ink for about $100. The main difference is that there isn't really a light box, but in Albuquerque we have lots of direct sunlight, so that should not be a problem! I will post a product review after I get it. Here is their website... http://ezscreenprint.com/



It looks even EASIER than yudu! The screens are basically reusable paper!

so I have spent a lot of time doodling and trying to come up with ideas for things to print, but I am leaving for Michigan early Thursday, so I probably will not get to try it until I get home. I have a few sketches already and some old sketches, then I also want to do a few roller derby related Screens too, oh, and probably at least one sugar skull. I probably should have ordered extra photoez screen papers with my order... I am sure these will go a little too fast. It means now that my fashion studio is pretty complete! I just need to get my old surger working, or sell it on CL and get a domestic one that is easier to use.

Hope yours was as merry and bright. This may have been the best Christmas I have ever had... and I was starting to think I was getting too old for Christmas.

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.