Getting Fit Before Baby

[Jules8]

Thats awesome!!! You go girl!!

 

[ireadyermind]

Hey guys -- sorry I've been MIA. Been dealing with a lot of crap and feeling emotionally drained.

Part of that was because I was waiting for results for my most recent cervical biopsy. I get them every 6 months, and the weeks before the biopsy and after it turn me into a nervous wreck every time. I got my results back and they're all clear! But man, the worry and stress during that wait always screws with me.

The biopsies themselves screw with me, too -- to the point that AF is usually 1 week late or more after one of these. Today is CD25 for me and I still don't have a +OPK or a BBT temp spike to indicate ovulation, and only just today thought that I could see some slight watery CM. My previous cycles for at least the last 3mos, I always O'd on CD18 or CD19, so you can see how badly this has thrown me off. Ugh.

To top it off, I haven't been losing weight at all. Even with sticking to a strict calorie count and eating lots of healthy things. I've been looking for a 30 day plan to follow in terms of a workout, maybe P90X or something similar, that I can do at home rather than at a gym, because my truck broke down and I don't have transportation now.

My GYN ordered blood tests for me to check hormones, cholesterol, etc. because I shouldn't be having the trouble I am with losing weight, especially if I'm eating less than I'm burning every day! For the past month I only lost 1/4 of a pound. Grr!

Anyway, hope all is going well with you ladies! Keep up your good work!

 

[cupcakestoy]

Welcome back! Sorry your struggling, hopefully the tests will give you some insight.

AFM, I've done great with keeping up my activity, but have slacked on my eating plan for the last few days :/ guess I've gotten lazy with tracking. So I'm going to sit down & make out a plan for this week to help me get back at it. I do wish it was easier to lose weight!

 

[Fern81]

Hi ladies

So my diet is going well, I am doing moderate exercise and eating:

Free range chicken and eggs
Red-speckled beans (not canned; dried. I soak them and cook in a little salt water)
Full cream unsweetened yogurt
Fruit (just 1-2 servings a day to limit sugar intake)
Lots of avocados (at least 1 a day)
Vegetables - fresh or cooked from frozen with a little salt, no sauces or anything
If I'm REALLY hungry I will have a little plain rice with avo oil or olive oil
Healthy oils: olive oil, avo oil, butter and coconut oil basically WITH EVERY MEAL (not oodles, just a tablespoon full). No sunflower or canola etc.
Sometimes a spoonful of oat bran on my yogurt
Drinks: water, coffee (only one a day, no sugar, full cream milk), rooibos and spearmint tea

And that's about it . Will sometimes have a little red meat but not too much; especially if it's not organic.

Very low carbs, no sugar, no sauces, preservatives, trans fats, bad oils, no refined or processed foods. It's working a charm. I've already lost some weight and I never have to figure out what I can or can't eat since the list is so limited. Changing up the veggies gives it enough diversity. AND I decided to have one cheat item/meal a week .

Ireadyermind - maybe try to cut out carbs? And replace them with healthy fats as an energy source; see the banting diet/ HFLC diet. It has worked for literally everone I know. What I'm doing now is low carbs, lots of healthy fats but some unrefined carbs allowed in small portions IF I'm very hungry. And it works. I've seen many people lose weight by cutting out carbs & replacing with fats. Especially is a low-fat diet doesn't work for you. Maybe worth a try? The research on HFLC diets is very interesting!

xx GL ladies.

 

[ireadyermind]

Ireadyermind - maybe try to cut out carbs? And replace them with healthy fats as an energy source; see the banting diet/ HFLC diet. It has worked for literally everone I know. What I'm doing now is low carbs, lots of healthy fats but some unrefined carbs allowed in small portions IF I'm very hungry. And it works. I've seen many people lose weight by cutting out carbs & replacing with fats. Especially is a low-fat diet doesn't work for you. Maybe worth a try? The research on HFLC diets is very interesting!

xx GL ladies.

Yep, I do the low carb thing already. (With the exception of my weekly cheat meal, of course. Haha)

I try to get at least 3 days of cardio workouts done, for at least 30 mins. Today I did an hour of HARD cardio, with an at-home Spinning Class video, plus 15 mins of upper body strength training.

I stay around 1200 - 1300 calories a day and my FitBit says that on a day with exercise, I burn 1900 - 2000 calories, sometimes more if I do a longer workout, have a busier day or do really well on watching what I eat.

That should add up to at least a 1 pound loss per week on average, taking into account the occasional bad day or whatnot, but this last week I gained two pounds instead of losing anything. My waist and thighs continue to expand, so I've had to go up a pants size and now my shirts are starting to fit poorly.

Soooooo I ramped up my exercise routine again. Instead of 30 - 45mins of cardio, I've gone up to an hour.

My OG/GYN is sending me in for bloodwork and ultrasounds because it's looking like I have PCOS and insulin resistance. That would sure explain a lot... And if I can get on Metformin to help regulate insulin, I'd probably lose weight really well.

A few years back I was able to lose 80 pounds through diet and exercise over the course of like a year and a half, so I know how and what to do -- but this time even being really strict on myself, all that happens is I gain weight.

Take into account that my BBT chart this month is insanely rocky AND I'm at CD27 without a +OPK or a temp spike, and I'm fairly certain that it's my wacky hormones screwing me up. That doesn't make it any easier to tolerate, though.

The more I gain, the more I have to LOSE to reach a healthy BMI! It's so frustrating. I start to think, "Why should I keep up with all this exercise and dieting if I'm going to gain weight anyway?" and then I'll want to stuff myself with cookies and donuts or something. Ugh.

 

[Fern81]

Ireadyermind - urgh poor you. Now just imagine what would have happened if you DIDN'T follow a healthy diet & exercise plan. At least you are doing what you can to limit the damage done by possible underlying health issues. I think so many ladies would literally have given up and just lost control of their weight and their health completely. This just shows how incredibly strong you are. Such an inspiration!!!

Hope you can go for the pcos tests soon!!!! And have you been tested for thyroid issues? Once I started getting treatment for hypothyroidism I must say dieting and exercise was much more efficient.... I was a bit angry at that time that my doctors hadn't picked up on it sooner but now it seems like it's under control.

All the best to you hun, wish I could give you a hug! Keep on doing what you're doing, you awesome lady! I really have hope for you that the solution can be found. xx

 

[ireadyermind]

Thank you, Fern! It means a lot that you say that.

I asked my doctor if she thought thyroid issues were a possibility and all she said was, "If you had an under-active thyroid, you wouldn't be having any periods." But the reason I was concerned is that there is a history of thyroid issues on my mother's side of the family. And you don't have to show EVERY symptom of a disorder to have the disorder, right?

I've got several, including extreme sensitivity to cold, constantly achy joints and muscles, ridiculously dry skin, the weight gain issues, fatigue...

Though the upcoming blood test I'm supposed to do is going to check my thyroid levels too, I believe, in addition to cholesterol, insulin, etc. I just have to find a day where I can fast for 10 - 12 hours AND find transportation to the lab. Kind of a crummy time for my truck to die on me! lol


What prompted you to have your thyroid levels checked?


Added as an afterthought:

I did a killer stationary bike workout yesterday, coupled with about 15mins of upper body workouts... OMG I'M SO SORE TODAY! lol

But I found out that I have "outgrown" my exercise bike! It only has 10 levels of resistance. When we bought it a few years ago, the highest resistance level I could do was level 7. Last year, I could consistently pedal at 8, but it was hard. 9 was like pedaling through mud (I could barely do it, slowly, for a few mins) and 10 brought the pedals to a complete stop.

Yesterday I was pedaling easily at level 8, with slight difficulty at 9 and only a little difficulty at 10! I even found myself wishing I could go up to an 11 or 12 because I wasn't getting my heart rate up high enough at 10 to give myself the workout I wanted. Wow! I'm pretty excited over that.

DH and I are going to look into trading this old bike in at the used sporting goods place across town, and we'll see if we can get a used Indoor Cycling bike instead. One of those kinds they use for spinning classes that has a ton of resistance levels? From what I understand, you can just keep on cranking those up because they use a resistance band around the wheel as opposed to just a few electronic levels. That means you can fine tune the settings, too, so that you can be halfway between one level and the next if you need to. I'm a little excited about that.

 

[Fern81]

Girl, you are soooo much more fit than I am . At the moment I am just WALKING up and down the hill, doing a few push-ups, squats, lunges and planking! I have so little time to exercise (run my own business) that I always feel like I have to start over.

I don't agree with your dr and thyroid issues... I've always had very heavy periods (except NOW; ever since I've started clomid, even now that I've stopped taking it 3 months ago, AF has dwindled to almost nothing). I went to my GP 4 years ago because I was feeling extremely exhausted. This feeling had been dragging on for months. And not just tired; literally I had NO energy. I thought I had a heart problem! She did a battery of tests including a thyroid check. It came back that my thyroid was almost completely inactive. I've had such a good response to the medication though. Looking back I had a few other signs like depression, brittle nails, eyebrows falling out (!) and weight gain. (Although I was comfort eating and drinking a lot at that stage so I assumed the weight gain was solely from that). My biggest sign was the extreme fatigue. Every person is different and not everyone will have the same symptoms. My dr said that hypothyroidism is very common in women. It's easy to diagnose and treat so it's definitely worth testing for!

Good luck with all the tests. It's not nice to find out that something is wrong but I guess it's also ironically NICE to find a medical reason for unpleasant symptoms, then it can actually be treated! So I hope they DO find out what's wrong.

All the other ladies working hard and dieting - thinking of you!

 

[cupcakestoy]

Hey girls! I've managed to be lazy with my eating habits the last few days(weeks) Going in the wrong direction! So I'm re-booting this week, back to the basics......again! Also decided I like Monday weigh ins, so that's changing back too! Hoping I can drop a couple of pound this week & get back at it!

 

[Fern81]

Hi all - cupcakestoy FX for you getting back into the diet. I also find that I'm constantly in and out. Ideally it would be a permanent lifestyle wouldn't it but I try my best.

Started with a HIIT exercise regime yesterday. One of the sequences goes like this:
squats
alternate lunges
push-ups
planks.... do 20 seconds of the first one, rest for 10 seconds, repeat for a total of 8 times. Then move on to the next exercise on the list.

Seeing as I'm so unfit I started off by doing 2 of each (and some walking up the hill, kettle bell swings etc to complete the workout). Today I did 2 of each, waited 1 min and then did 2 of each again followed by one other butt-exercise! Even though it sounds so simple, I am TIRED! And can feel my heart and muscles worked for a change lol.

On Monday I might do a stats page again and even add a ticker . Am quite fired up this time. Full-time work only starts again mid July (exam time so some of my lessons are cancelled until school starts again) and hopefully by then I will have a proper regime in place.

Enjoy the week's hard work girls!

 

[deafgal01]

Still struggling to get the weight loss going. I've given up tracking food and exercise as it doesn't do me much good to see it staying the same every week, or going up a few pounds. I start grad school classes Monday, and then in July I'll be in Colorado so I'll be fairly active this summer while I'm attending classes as I'll have to walk from dorm to the class everyday plus hiking on weekends. I've quit coming in Bnb so much too since I was busy with end of school duties (final exams to grade, and graduation duties to go to, parties, etc.) I'm not sure how busy I'll be with grad school starting up (that program will last about 15 months so I'll be in and out for a while).

 

[ireadyermind]

Still struggling to get the weight loss going. I've given up tracking food and exercise as it doesn't do me much good to see it staying the same every week, or going up a few pounds.

Aww, I can totally relate. I always feel like there's no point in me tracking all that stuff if it never makes any difference! It's so stressful watching everything you eat, working out, trying your best and then still coming up short. I think that's why so many of us end up falling off the wagon.

I know I'm constantly telling myself, "Well if I'm going to do all of THIS and still gain weight, why can't I just stick to eating junk food and accomplish the same thing?"

But keep your chin up! You'll find something that works! Hopefully being active with hiking and walking to and from classes will help you out. I know that when exercise was something I had to do in order to get to work and home from work, I was the most fit I'd ever been in my life! My husband and I didn't have enough money for gas in the car when we were first starting out, so we walked or biked everywhere. I was shedding inches from my thighs and waist like crazy.

So maybe this is the very thing you needed! ^^ I hope it works out for you.

 

[swimmyj1]

hey gals I was talking to ireadyermind on another thread and she recommended this one. Hope you don't mind me joining you. Just a little background about me. I've been off BC for about 2 years. but only actively trying for the last year. Recently got married in April (yay!)

So far i've dropped about 25 lbs sense November but that was crazy hard and now I'm starting to go back up time to start getting back up and hiking and cut out the crappy food again. I still have another 50 to go to reach my goal weight.

So i need some advise I got a positive opk the last two day (wondfo's) and started using the advanced cb digital and got a peak ovulation on that. But my doctor wants me to start temping for the next few months, but I work swing night shift and wake up at different times everyday so I don't feel like this could be that accurate. But now I'm worried because I haven't gotten a peak after the positive opks so does this mean I didn't actually ovulate? (sorry super long comment lol) thanks you

Hope everyone has a lucky month

 

[ireadyermind]

Welcome, welcome! Glad you hopped on over!

For the OPKs, technically you could stop using OPKs after your first positive result. I know a lot of people (myself included) continue to use them for a few days, though, for curiosity's sake.

Once you get the very first positive, you're generally expected to ovulate within 12 - 36 hours afterward. It varies from person to person, so the rule of thumb a lot of ladies go by is to make sure to BD within 12hrs of getting that first positive, and then at LEAST every other day afterward for a couple of days, or as often as once a day for a couple of days.

Some people BD more than once a day, but I personally think that's too much. Sperm are supposed to be able to survive en-utero for 3 to 5 days, so BDing 2x a day is a bit excessive and it might start making your DH feel like it's a chore instead of something fun to look forward to.

I hope that helps!

 

[drjo718]

Hi swimmy, welcome and congratulations on your recent wedding! I went off the pill over a year ago in april and also had a 6 week miscarriage in june of last year. And I have about 50 pounds to lose to reach my goal weight. I worked night shift until a couple months ago and was worried that would affect temping, but I was still able to see when I ovulated as I had a significant temp shift, so I think you should try it. Forget the clearblue advanced opks, they're not good...stick with the wondfos.

 

[cupcakestoy]

Still struggling to get the weight loss going. I've given up tracking food and exercise as it doesn't do me much good to see it staying the same every week, or going up a few pounds. I start grad school classes Monday, and then in July I'll be in Colorado so I'll be fairly active this summer while I'm attending classes as I'll have to walk from dorm to the class everyday plus hiking on weekends. I've quit coming in Bnb so much too since I was busy with end of school duties (final exams to grade, and graduation duties to go to, parties, etc.) I'm not sure how busy I'll be with grad school starting up (that program will last about 15 months so I'll be in and out for a while).

Deafgal-I know its disheartening to be doing everything right & seeing little results. I do find for me, tracking helped, but that's just because I eat more than I realize & tracking puts it in perspective. I have been on the diet yo-yo for years, unfortunately whether I like it or not, the only way I can lose is to eat healthy, limiting my sugar, fats & carbs & actually exercising. Wish there was an "easier" way, but not for me :/

hey gals I was talking to ireadyermind on another thread and she recommended this one. Hope you don't mind me joining you. Just a little background about me. I've been off BC for about 2 years. but only actively trying for the last year. Recently got married in April (yay!)

So far i've dropped about 25 lbs sense November but that was crazy hard and now I'm starting to go back up time to start getting back up and hiking and cut out the crappy food again. I still have another 50 to go to reach my goal weight.

So i need some advise I got a positive opk the last two day (wondfo's) and started using the advanced cb digital and got a peak ovulation on that. But my doctor wants me to start temping for the next few months, but I work swing night shift and wake up at different times everyday so I don't feel like this could be that accurate. But now I'm worried because I haven't gotten a peak after the positive opks so does this mean I didn't actually ovulate? (sorry super long comment lol) thanks you

Hope everyone has a lucky month

Congrats on your wedding & weight loss thus far! I agree to ditch the CB Advanced! They ARE not worth the money, as I had like 7-8 days of Blinking smileys! When I use the Opks, I use the regular digis with a smiley face, + for your surge. WAY less stressful!


Down 3 pounds this week, even tho I only managed to get in 1 gym day....I did ALOT of push mowing this Week! lol Hoping to keep with the losing trend, heading to the gym!

 

[Fern81]

Hi ladies

Swimmyj - welcome! Good job on 25 pounds. Sounds like you have a weight loss recipe that works for you and we will be here to cheer you on as you pick it up again. Re the OPKs: Peak reading and +OPK just means that you are due to ovulate in 12-36 hours and that you are thus at peak fertility level (as I'm sure you know it's best to bd before ovulation so that the swimmers are ready and waiting for the egg to be released). I am a very bad sleeper, some nights I don't sleep at all but I have found that I still get very accurate temp readings as long as I take my temp at the same time every morning. Everyone's different but maybe temping will still work for you! I find it empowering and it gives lots of information about what is going on in my body. Sometimes I find it overwhelming though and just don't want to temp for a whole cycle lol. GL!!!

Deafgal - all the best with your classes. Hope that the increased level of activity makes a difference for you hun.

Cupcakestoy - Wish I could see a before and after pic of you! Bet you already look great after the 37 pound loss.

Cheering on everyone else!!!!!

AFM - diet is going well. I've only managed to lose 1 kg (2.2 pounds) last week but then again I think I can possibly only lose 7kg max (about 15 pounds). I weigh 56 kg atm (123,5 pounds), down 1kg from 57. I am very tiny though, very small build so a few kgs make a HUGE difference in how I look. I look fat and flabby at the moment but just that 1 kg has already made a difference in my tummy circumference and self confidence! Would LOVE to get to 50 but I don't know if that's a reality considering my age.... the lowest I've been since the age of 23 was 52 kg (after hard dieting just before my wedding 2 years ago!). Am 33 yo now so metabolically it does make a difference......

Good luck with everyone's diets and exercise plans this week. Please do share interesting tips or easy/yummy diet recipes!!! xxx

 

[ireadyermind]

Ugh. Crummy weigh-in today. I'm almost 15 pounds heavier than when I started this weight loss plan and I'm at my wit's end! Apparently it doesn't matter to my body if I'm consistently eating fewer calories than I burn each day.

I know some of this weight gain is bloat. DH insisted that he take me to his favorite Indian food place yesterday. I've never tried authentic Indian food, so he suggested the lunch buffet, so that I could get little tastes of a variety of things to see if there was something I enjoyed.

Well, it was pretty much a bust. There were maybe two items on the whole buffet that were palatable to me (I really can't handle spicy foods! lol) and they were both dairy-based. Given that I'm lactose intolerant, that meant I couldn't eat a whole lot, even though I took an enzyme tablet to help with digestion, and the stuff I did eat left me feeling sick all day long. In fact, I woke up still feeling it this morning. Not in a 'food poisoning' way, but in an 'I've eaten something I shouldn't have' way.

I got in two good days of workouts last week and one day full of walking, and I hope to keep that up this week - but the temp today is forecast at a high of 103°F (about 39°C) and that kills any plans I had for more walking! I'll see what I can do on my bike today to try and make up for the buffet damage from yesterday. Haha

 

[swimmyj1]

I need to get back out hiking and kayaking, I'm planning on going tomorrow with my friends and working night shifts I just wanna snack lol.
Thanks for all the temping advice I really have no clue what I'm doing here lol. days off i'm up anywhere between 6-10 am nights i work I don't get up until 4pm. but have been setting an alarm for noon to temp so hopefully they are not too far off. I've had 2 days off a surge hopefully I get mine 3rd one tomorrow and it confirms I actually did. I admit I tend to over analyze things when it comes to getting trying. So many women in my family have "accidentally" gotten pregnant so I figured I wouldn't have this problem and none of them can relate or give me advise lol.

I only did the clear blues this month because my wondfo's had expired and I hadn't noticed in time to order more. (CB are soooo expensive!) So I wasn't sure how accurate they would be but they seemed to have worked just fine lol.

ireadyermind- you said that your doctor might think you have PCOS right? If they put you on metformin a lot of times that will really help you lose weight too. losing weight with pcos is really hard.

 

[ireadyermind]

So many women in my family have "accidentally" gotten pregnant so I figured I wouldn't have this problem and none of them can relate or give me advise lol.

...

ireadyermind- you said that your doctor might think you have PCOS right? If they put you on metformin a lot of times that will really help you lose weight too. losing weight with pcos is really hard.

OMG I know exactly what you mean! I have 2 younger sisters. The middle sister has had THREE babies accidentally, even while using birth control.

The youngest currently has a 6-month-old, also by accident.

Several of my cousins and friends have also gotten pregnant accidentally/unexpectedly and one or two got pregnant their first month trying... Ugh!

My BFF whom I've known since 3rd grade keeps saying things like, "You don't need to be using OPKs or temping. Just relax! I have two kids and I didn't have to do any of that." Her two children were also unplanned.

Drives me crazy!

They are all saying things like that, even my mother, who has stopped with subtle hints about wanting more grandchildren, and moved on to the blatantly obvious comments. Even my 3 y/o nephew is starting to ask where MY kids are.

I've told Mom that DH and I are waiting to have house and work in good order before we TTC -- mostly so she'll stop bugging me, but also because I want to surprise her with the news when it happens.



As for the PCOS... I'm supposed to go in for blood work and an ultrasound, however it has to be somewhere between CD1 and CD7 (so that any cysts they find on me won't be because of an impending ovulation) and since I'm currently at CD35 without ovulation, I don't even know when my next CD1 will even be! If I somehow happened to ovulate today, then I'd still have at LEAST two more weeks before AF appears, if she does at all. So far I've had to reschedule my appt twice because AF didn't show up exactly as planned last month either. Sigh.



On the upside! Last night I got an almost positive result on the OPK strip. I had to call DH in and ask him to look, because it was that close. We decided it wasn't a true positive, BD'd this morning because I was sure O was on its way in the next day or so, and I'll be using the OPKs every 6 hours today to try and catch that surge!

This morning it was still the "almost positive" color and I seem to get my darkest results at night, so I'm hoping I get the surge tonight, and an ovulation in a couple of days!

I actually have watery CM and tiny tiiiiny traces of EWCM for once, which I'm thrilled about. Usually very dry in there since I had some glands removed. Fingers crossed that this is my month! I've been watching for O like a hawk so I hope we can catch that egg!