[Gemara D'Jessica]

Went really well! I got sick the day of erev Pesach so my family had to help with whatever cooking was left as I (and Asher,who was also sick) slept for most of the day. (Kovi had gotten sick the day before, Corey got sick during the first seder and my parents got sick right after getting home from the seder. The second days of Pesach when Corey’s whole family was in town all of them got sick — 3 with the flu and one with a cold. We should name this Pesach “Pesach 2012: Influenza Takeover!!!!). Thankfully the bug was only a 24-ish hour one, so by the time the first seder came along I was actually starting to feel more with it. I had planned on weighing myself before Pesach started, but, obviously, that didn’t happen. You can’t weigh yourself when you’re sleeping! 

Anyway, weighed myself that Sunday (pesach started Friday night) and I was at 178.8. Weighed myself a few minutes ago and I’m down to 176! Aw yeah! First Pesach that I have ever lost weight! I think a lot of people were “worried” about what I was going to eat and “how I was going to survive”, but really, other than the second night of seder when I got a small craving for my mother’s matza balls (and did NOT give in), I felt completely satisfied. A typical, non-yom tov day, went: fruit smoothie for breakfast, matza farfel with sugar, chocolate chips and homemade almond milk - not healthy in the least, but it’s one of my favorite Pesach dishes… that also happens to be vegan! - and roasted veg with quinoa for dinner. Truthfully, the yom tov meals weren’t much different than my chol hamoed dinners — just add in ratatouille, asparagaus, matza and two desserts that I made. for the second days. 

As for the boys, Kovi was perfectly happy with his roasted veggies/ratatouille and quinoa. I kept trying to give him my smoothie/fresh fruit just to change it up a bit for him, but he didn’t want it. Roasted veggies and quinoa were all that he wanted. Oh! And veggie soup. He loves his veggie soup! Asher was a totally different situation. It is very hard to have non-vegan food in the house with a three year old who still doesn’t understand that that chicken leg right there came from a real live chicken that was filled with antibiotics and hormones before making it to your plate. Meals were a struggle with him and although on yom tov I did allow him to have Pesach bagels (made with eggs), chicken soup/matza balls and fish just to avoid the screaming, during the week was so so hard. He ended up eating mostly matza with jelly — which he really didn’t seem to mind, however I would have liked him to have eaten fruits - which he ate very little of - and veggies - which he ate none of - throughout the week. Next year I think it will be easier. He won’t be as early in his transition to vegan — and may even be a full vegan by then — so it will be at least somewhat easier for him to make healthy choices and understand why I’d rather he eat the roasted veg and quinoa than the hardboiled egg. 

All in all, even with the flu, my first vegan Pesach (and our first Pesach hosting the seders!) went really well. Looking forward to many more!

I don’t understand it, but every year I get sucked into the whole “new years resolutions” thing. Maybe it’s because so many of my online friends talk about it or maybe it’s because I really, really like making lists. What ever the reason is, here are my goals for 2012.

[1] Get to my goal weight. Well, get within 10lbs of my goal weight. As I’ve said for the past 2 years, I have no idea what my “normal” weight it. My long term goal weight is 135 and for my height that is reasonable. But just in case I’m meant to be on the heavier side of healthy for my height, I’ll be happy to get to 145. 

[2] Do a weekly photography blog and stick with it! Two years ago I started a Project365 (that’s 365 days of pictures) and made it to the middle of August then quit. This year I’ll be doing a 52 week project - that’s one photo a week. Definitely more doable. 

[3] Getting my thyroid under control without pills. I’ve been hearing more and more about nutrition as medicine. I need to read more about it and get in contact with a doctor who is comfortable with this idea and willing to guide me along before taking the plunge though. 

[4] Make mornings as stress free as possible. Firstly, PRAYING. My oh my, how I have fallen in this category. I went a full year with saying brachot and shema every single morning, but once Kovi was born that all went down the tube. [No, I am not blaming Kovi for my lack of davening. Just that the birth of Kovi coincides with the time I stopped praying daily.] I say Modeh Ani and Shema (at night) with Asher, but I want to start doing more [and teaching Asher more]. I think brachot and (day time) Shema are a good starting off point. And praying will definitely ease my stress level - always does (especially shema. The alone time behind my hand for those seconds that it takes me to say it are priceless.)I will also start going to sleep earlier so that I will hopefully feel more refreshed in the morning. I will put mine and the boys clothes out the night before so that that is one [well, three] less thing(s) to worry about. 

[5] I feel like I should have a 5th thing, but I just don’t. I’m sure someone will tell me what should be here. *** Immediately after posting this I realized what #5 will be: run a 5k! I’m currently on week 4 of Couch25k and I love it! 

I have pushed off this post long enough and I am at a point where I NEED to write it. I’ve been cheating. On my diet that is. I got so far off track while pregnant and I thought that I was doing so well getting back on it after I gave birth, but I’m not. Honestly, for several weeks I was doing really well in terms of eating and exercise (even though I saw no indication of this on the scale), but the past week and a half-ish, ugh… So I’m writing this post to make myself accountable to all of you. Maybe I should even start making videos again. 

I feel like I need to do a cleanse for a week just to clean my body of all the crap I’ve been putting in it. I would love to do a raw food cleanse, - basically eating only raw fruits and veggies for a week - but I read that nursing mothers shouldn’t attempt it because the toxins can leave through the breast milk and go straight to baby. That would not be cool. 

One area of this whole thing that is giving me the most anxiety is calories. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I’m breastfeeding. Breastfeeding can burn up to 500 calories a day which is awesome. But at the same time I worry about my supply going down so I need to make sure to be taking in a certain amount of calories. I just worry that I will take in more calories than I need, which will inhibit weight loss, simply because I’m worried that I’m not getting enough calories to keep my supply going. I worked so hard to make sure that my supply came in at full force and the thought of losing it when Kovi is so young scares me. 

Enough with the angst, what am I doing to kickstart my healthy life… again?

1. I set up the calendar on my iPod to remind me every day to do specific exercises. Every day I do (a? the?) plank (to strengthen my core. Having babies does a number on the mid section!), leg lifts (because my hips have always been my problem area) and this one yoga pose that helps with balance and strengthening your feet (because after researching barefoot running, I really want my feet to be nice and strong). And then depending on the day of the week I either do running (short spurts so far), biking and/or yoga (this also helps with my stress level). 

2. I started taking my thyroid medication at night instead of in the morning. A friend of mine posted a link - which I unfortunately did not save and am too lazy to search for it right now - showing that it may be more beneficial to take your medication before bed rather than when you first wake up in the morning. When my thyroid is out of whack it effects so many things: weight, sleep, stress level, energy level, etc. By taking it at night I’m hoping that it will be at it’s most effective. 

3. I am going to start making myself a lunch and snack menu. (I still make my dinner menu, I just haven’t been posting it out of shear laziness.) This way I will only have in the apartment what I will eat and nothing extra to just randomly snack on. 

Hopefully this will all help me to stay on track. I am so sick of being fat.