Good results, energy levels, and sweet spots

I redid my macros now that I'm working out on a regular basis. My carbs went up quite a bit and fats went up a little too. Actually, so did protein! Mostly, though, I was excited to see the carbs go up. I had them set pretty low because I was basically a bum all day sitting around nursing or rocking her to sleep or playing games with the older girls. Now that I'm more active, I can eat more carbs, in fact I need more carbs to keep my energy level up.

While doing this, I measured myself and discovered that I lost a few inches in my waist and hips. Glad to see this non scale victory! I had noticed that my one pair of non maternity jeans were fitting a little better but I attributed it to them being stretched out. Each inch that disappears brings me a little closer to fitting in most of my old clothes, so I'm celebrating every single one. I'm only down 6 lbs right now, but again, every pound counts, and weight lifting is going to help shape my body even more. Every day that I am sore from it, I can tell that I'm moving in the right direction.

Even better, though, is that my energy level is so consistently high now. I don't crash midday and I want to work out, even at night when the kids are in bed and I'm ready to be done with parenting for the day. Before iifym and exercising, I was so tired out by 8:00 at night that I would fall asleep on the couch before heading to bed a few hours later. Now, I'm able to use that time to clean up a bit, work out, or just read (without falling asleep!) a book. It's a huge weight off of my shoulders.

I've found a sweet spot with my meals for now. Keeping my lunch lighter, I have been including a protein shake around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon to fuel me until dinner time, which is usually later since we like to wait to eat with hubby. I haven't been snacking at all during naps, which I was terrible at while pregnant. Every morning, I find myself filling up the huge jug of water, my precious coffee concoction (currently: chocolate chip cookie creamer with a bit of ready whip on top - amazing and not terribly awful for me), and then later on my protein shake. If I don't get them back to the kitchen when finished my side table ends up a bit crowded:

It's okay though. I'm getting into a groove with this new lifestyle. I'm figuring it out, slowly but surely. I do spend more time prepping food (I love you, fruits and veggies, but you take so.much.prep.time.) but I try to do it in mass quantities so that I am not doing it all day every day.

I've also learned that I need to have a solid breakfast with a higher amount of protein than I'm prone to eat if I'm not careful. I have been obtaining this by sauteing veggies and ham with egg whites, or Ezekiel bread with Pb2, or hard boiled eggs with turkey sausage. Today, I added overnight oats that had some protein powder mixed in to really keep me full until lunch time. It worked, tasted great, and didn't take hardly any prep time which is huge for me. Mornings are busy enough around here; I don't have time to be in the kitchen making large meals.

We are on the brink of a weather heat wave, and I am so excited. According to my weather app, today is the last day below 50 degrees, which means we'll be spending a lot more time outside, preferably with me getting some exercise in while the kids burn off some energy too. It was just too cold today to be outside with Amelia, but knowing that tomorrow will be a lot nicer made it easier for me to stay inside. I'm just itching to get out there! The girls are too. Their Easter baskets had some outdoor toys in them and they haven't got to use them too much yet. Soon, girls, soon! (More on Easter in a upcoming post).

So that's where I'm at right now with food and exercise. Lifestyle changes take time, but I'm happy to keep plugging away at it.