Here’s some before and after shots to today:

In case you can’t tell, the photo on the left is before I started and the right is now. I still have a long way to go, but the pants I’m wearing in this shot are constantly falling down nowadays. I just wanted to wear the same outfit to help see the difference. I probably will have to wear something smaller, possibly more snug to be able to tell in the next photos. Now front on…

Again, left is before, right is after. I think it’s harder to see a difference in this pic. The  main changes I see here are a more prominent collarbone and my shirt sits lower now because I’ve lost some boobs (love that!).

But you probably wanna hear some numbers, right? Ok!

This week, I lost 1.5kg. I think that’s pretty awesome. All up, since starting two weeks ago, I’ve lost 3.5kg. I’m still finding the program easy, although this week after my first weigh-in, the reality of doing this over an extended period of time set in and I was a little overwhelmed by that. Then my pedometer and a cookbook I ordered came in the mail and got me all pumped up again.

I haven’t tried any recipes in the cookbook yet, but the pictures make me drool like Homer Simpson. I’ve been using the pedometer everyday, and as you can see on today’s reading, I earned an extra two activity points just by counting my steps and trying to get more incidental exercise into my day.

Since last week’s measurement screenshot was hard to read, I’ll just quickly jot down my measurement changes:

Weight: 59.5kg (Week one, it was 63kg)

Bust: 96cm (Week one was 101cm)

Waist: 83cm (Week one: 87cm)

Hips: 100cm (Week one: 101cm) Yes! I managed to lose something off this area this time, unlike last week, when it wouldn’t budge.

Arms: 26.5cm (Week one: 28cm)

Thighs: 50cm (Week one: 54cm)

Size: 16. This is the same size I started out with. I checked a sizing chart, and it appears I’m inching towards a 14 now, but I read somewhere on the Weight Watchers site that it takes roughly 5kgs of weight loss to drop a size.

Oh! I forgot another cool bit of info; I reached a Weight Watchers’ milestone this week! Looky:

See that star? That means I’ve reached the 5% weight loss goal. I’m thrilled to have achieved that in just my second week! I love that Weight Watchers manages to present this in such a motivating way, to make me feel as though I’m getting somewhere early on. On my community page (think of it like a facebook ‘wall’), these are my awards thus far:

I’m finding the whole site so encouraging. Filling out my points online each day is like playing a computer game, not the drudgery I was worried it might be before I started.

Other changes are that I’m loving eating breakfast, I feel lighter going about my day, I have less neck, back and headaches. I’m becoming increasingly aware that I’ll need to buy new clothes much sooner than expected before I embarrass myself with a public (accidental) pants dropping.

I feel much happier already, and sleep much more soundly thanks to all the exercise I’m doing. I’ve been having one rest day per week from exercise, just to avoid injury and because well, sometimes I just get a bit sore and tired.

Just remember, if you’re interested, you can follow my Weight Watchers diary here and also, I’m giving away a Weight Watchers online membership to one lucky person at my new giveaway site, Winning Mums’ facebook page. Unlike most giveaways I run, this one does come with conditions, so please make sure you read those before entering. If you’re a member of Weight Watchers online, I’d love it if you come to my diary or page and say hello, even make friends! It’s the community support that helps so much with this program.

I hope you’ve enjoyed following this so far. I must say, knowing that I’ll be writing back and being held accountable to you guys has been a primary motivator as well.

I LOST TWO FREAKIN’ KILOS!!!!

Ahem. Hurray! I’m so happy with that result. Let me go into my measurements, also:

I’m so pleased to have lost so much from my bust, as my partner and I have been frequently discussing whether or not I should get a breast reduction. Prior to starting the program, we always agreed it’d be better to try to lose weight first. My boobs were starting to give me headaches, neckaches and backaches. My small frame just can’t carry it. I do notice that I’m less ache-y this week.

I’m sorry I couldn’t make this picture for you a little larger to read, but it would’ve burst out of my columns!

So, what have I been doing differently? I’ve been making sure I exercise daily. This week, I’ll make sure I give myself a day’s rest from it somewhere though, to avoid injury. I’ve been using exercise DVDs, but mostly the Xbox Kinect. (It’s a bit like a Wii, only better, because you don’t stand on a board, or hold any gadgets in your hands)

I’ve been tracking what I eat, and using the ProPoints system with Weight Watchers. It’s felt incredibly easy, so far. I mean obviously, I had to put the work into my exercise and really work up a sweat, but it was a pleasure to be moving again. I’m normally the type of person who thrives on exercise, so I think it explains why this last year mostly without exercise has been tough on my energy levels and emotional well being.

I’ve still been eating foods I enjoy, if anything, I enjoy what I eat so much more now. I’ve been so busy and tired prior to starting this program that I was forgetting to eat breakfast and lunch most days. Once the afternoon hit, I’d be understandably starving, and grab whatever junk I could get my hands on. I’m sure you can easily imagine how much more energy I now have due to eating properly throughout the day again. It’s so funny; I would never let my kids go that long without eating! So why is it, it was ok to do that to myself?

The important thing though, is that behaviour’s had a stop put to it. I still crave chocolate. And I have it. But instead of a block of chocolate like the old days, I now have a Weight Watcher’s brownie or one of their mini chocolate rolls. Easily as good as the real thing. Easily. I ate MacDonald’s french fries on my first day. But only half of a kids’ sized package. Yes, I actually stopped myself after a taste!

I’ve been filling up on point-free food, such as vegetables and fruit, a lot more. One ‘danger’ period for me is after dinner when the kids are in bed. That’s when I’d always want to snack a lot. I still do, but instead of junk food, it’s now the point-free foods instead.

I’m so in love with how doable it all is, and how well it’s fitting into my life. I love how the Weight Watchers online community is just like facebook, only more supportive. I love how in the first week, I’ve already made friends on there and we are supporting each other through the triumphs and the hard bits. I love that I can blog over there, and I love the Weight Watchers facebook page. All of these things show me that I’m not in this on my own. I spend a lot of time at both sites each day, to learn, to look at the hundreds of inspiring before and after weight loss pictures, to get tips and to enjoy hearing about others’ successes.

Yesterday, I was nervous about weighing in today. Funnily enough, I saw a lot of members on the site yesterday, experiencing great weight loss. I was over the moon for all of them. Of course, it encouraged me too, and made me try just that little bit harder with my program on the day leading up to my own weigh in. I know there are people there who are wishing me the best of luck for a good result, and that feels awesome. I love that we can all send each other these cute little tokens for encouragement, too. I sent out a few ‘proud of you’ tokens for members who’d lost weight yesterday. And of course, I can’t wait for the community members whom I’ve made friends with to see how I’ve done after my first weigh in.

If you’re doing Weight Watchers, or even trying to lose weight another way, please let me know how you are going.

Before going off to Melbourne, I realised I didn’t have a thing to wear. Literally. I had some nice things that were now too small for me, and house clothes… Bugger. So, in a mad panic, I raced off to look for something warm and nicer than tracky dacks to wear. Now, I knew I’d gained some weight since buying a car and moving to the country, but what a wake-up call this was.

I tried on a size 16 dress, and oh my god, it fit. When I’m not fat, I’m normally a size 8-10. I wasn’t so deluded as to think I was still that small, but 16? Shocker. And so not good on a short frame! I ended up choosing a belted jersey dress and a warm jacket with tights. I still felt fat, but soldiered on…

It did make me realise that I wanted to do something about my weight, finally. I’ve talked about it on here before, so there have been efforts made… But I never really had a proper plan, plus last year was quite full-on with my carer duties, not really leaving a lot of time for me. My partner is still sick, but functioning much better within the home, which is a good start. It has been allowing me some more freedom, some more time for me this year, slowly.

Anyway. I was very thrilled as a result of going to the Bloggers’ Brunch, to be offered a free six month plan for the Weight Watchers Online program. I signed up for it on Tuesday this week, but officially started on the Wednesday. Would you believe I already feel a little lighter? I keep thinking I’m imagining it, because the program seems too easy, and it doesn’t feel that I’ve been trying too hard. But no, my partner has noticed as well, and my pants have been starting to fall down as I work out.

Basically, what I’ll be doing, is at least once a week at Hear Mum Roar, I’ll be posting my progress. I expect you guys to hold me accountable, ok? It’s going to be rather warts-and-all (as evidenced by some nasty photos below!) because I really want to document the improvements along the way. I have shared some of these photos on my facebook page already:

Oh boy, mug shot alert! This was me on Tuesday, at 63kg, looking mortified. Honestly though, who ever looks happy in these ‘before’ shots? My goal weight is 49kg. Please, don’t baulk at the amount, it’s within my healthy weight range for my height. Just remember I’m very short.

Here’s a screen shot of part of the online program where I track my Pro Points:

I find this very easy to use, and I have to say I was gobsmacked that I was given 29 pro points per day plus 49 pro points to eat throughout the week at my disposal. Weight Watchers allows this so if you have a wedding or a party coming up, or even a ‘weak’ moment, you make reasonable allowances for this. I’m finding the points very easy to stick to, so far. You can also earn more points by doing exercise.

Another thing I love is the free iPhone app that comes with the program as well.

This is handy, because you can keep tracking your points even when you’re out and about away from your computer.

So you know, I’ll be weighing and measuring myself every Tuesday, if you’d like to come back to check how I’m progressing. In all my excitement when I signed up on Tuesday this week, I bought two big pumpkins to make the roasted pumpkin and ginger soup in the Weight Watchers ‘Hearty’ cookbook (I received this for free at Bloggers’ Brunch). I was going to make it that night, and would you believe, the pumpkins are still sitting there, waiting to be made? Argh.

My partner’s said he’ll help me tomorrow. Actually, he was going to help me today, but life got in the way. The plan is to cook and freeze in bulk so that I can have a zero Pro Point snack anytime I feel like it. Over time, I plan to make other soups, frozen lunches and dinners.

Before I go on, I’m going to add this disclaimer: when I say, ‘if you plan on feeding your baby formula’, I’m referring to any situation that may call for this plan. You might be an adoptive mother or foster carer. You may have tried breast feeding and it didn’t work out. Or you may not want to breastfeed. This post is not about women’s reasons for using baby formula. Everybody knows that breast milk is the best possible way to feed an infant, and this is not an anti-breastfeeding post. I write this piece free of any judgement of any parent or carer who finds them self using baby formula.

In the ten years that I’ve been a parent, a lot has changed. I had my first child then, born a month premature. She was fed a combination of baby formula and my milk for the first two weeks; mostly my milk, though. I won’t go into the reasons why today, but breastfeeding ended up not working out for us, and so after two weeks, we switched her to formula. I was able to talk to health professionals about formula brands, and what the differences were. Some gave opinions on which were better than others or more suited to my daughter’s needs.

In hospital, the brand she was given was Enfalac, but by the time she arrived home, she was fully fed on breast milk. When I put her on formula, I started her on S-26. She had dreadful, painful constipation. Back then, the Tresillian nurse I spoke to on the phone was easily able to tell me that little babies such as my daughter don’t always do so well on S-26 due to it’s high iron and sodium content. She suggested I check the label for these levels, then choose a formula milk that had lower ones. We followed her advice, switched over to Karicare and voila! Crisis over. Happy baby.

Fast forward to six years later when I had our next child, my son. We breastfed for five weeks, then changed to formula after that. Oh my god! What a nightmare it was trying to get any useful information! The brands had changed in that time, and good old Tresillian this time were restricted from being able to advise me on which brands were better than others. I was kindly told this, and she muttered, ‘all I can say is, they’re pretty much all the same’.  (Except, in my opinion, when you factor in that all children are individuals and react differently to different brands)

I googled the subject, and got no answers there, either. The only way I could find what I was looking for was to take myself to the store and research the labels myself. With a high-maintenance baby boy, I decided to wait until my partner came home so that he could help with bubs and I could take my time to read in peace.

So, how do you decide which formula to choose these days? If you need advice, who do you turn to?

It’s not great to change a baby’s formula regularly, as it can wreak havoc on their little tummies, so it’s no wonder as mums we feel the pressure to try to get it right as early as possible. I have some suggestions here on points you might like to consider before choosing a brand. Of course, if your child has reflux, lactose intolerance, is premature, or has other medical issues, definitely talk about this with your doctor.

Read the label

Pretty obvious, but read the nutritional information on the back of the tins at the shop, or your friends’ at their home. Do you want your baby to have omega-3′s added, or probiotics? Do you feel comfortable with the nutrients offered, in the amounts given?

Some people choose to boycott Nestle

Many of us are aware of this, and if you aren’t, you can read a brief summary on why here. I mostly boycotted Nestle, but I did go through a stage when formula feeding my son, where I did use it. It’s your choice, but it’s important to know what goes on behind the scenes so you can choose whether you want to vote with your dollar or not.

Think about your budget

Think about how often you get paid; is it weekly, fortnightly? How many tins will you need in that time? How much will this cost? Some brands are more expensive than others. Cost may not be a factor for some, but if it is for you, this could heavily influence the choice you make. The first formula my son started out with was Bellamy Organic formula. It was one of the more expensive ones. At the time, we could factor it into our budgets, and decided to use it. In the second half of his first year, we wanted to tighten our belts a little more, and so we then changed brands to Nestle, which was one of the cheaper options at that time. He was also on solids, so we felt not as bad doing this as we would’ve when we was a newborn.

Try to gauge availability of different brands

When I had my son on Bellamy organic formula, I was very happy with it, but sourcing it each week was often a nightmare. Stocks often ran low in my town, which made it difficult to buy on many occassions. I’d end up having to look for it in other towns, often spending a lot of time and money travelling  to do this. This was almost five years ago though, and hopefully things have changed!

Obviously, I had no clue this was a problem when I started my son on this brand, otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen it. If you know other mums who are formula feeding, it’s a good idea to ask if they ever have problems with low stock for their brand, or if they’ve ever heard of it happening to mums who use other brands. It’s especially important if you don’t live in a metropolitan area.

Sometimes it takes trial and error

Despite our best attempts to choose carefully, sometimes certain brands simply don’t agree with our babies. Like the S-26 with my daughter. Or my son, with a particular brand (the name which now escapes me) with high levels of acidophilus. He got a terrible rash with that formula, and I had to switch to something that had no acidophilus instead. Although I said earlier that it’s not good to switch products regularly, sometimes the only way to know what’s best for your child is to experience it first hand.

Have you ever been in a position where you’ve used baby formula? How did you choose which brand to use? Who did you turn to for advice? What would your advice be to other mums in this situation?

Other reading:

Baby formula in Australia – brands sold, where to buy and cost

Bottle feeding (all about infant formula)

Bottle feeding with formula

Our experience with baby led solids

The frugal baby

When we lived in Sydney, we had *horrors* no car. We were in a fairly toffee-nosed suburb, and I would be walking to and from school, half an hour each way, twice a day. (Thankfully, I had some wonderful mum friends who’d offered to help me with lifts when I needed it) When my youngest started kindergarten (first year of ‘big’ school in NSW), I sported a pregnant belly. When my son was born, I’d be out pushing the pram, and very soon after, another pregnant belly. Then, I graduated to a double limosine-style pram, and I can tell you honestly, that put me through my paces. Once my fiance got sick and wasn’t working, I would leave the younger two kids with him as I took my eldest child to school, which made it faster, plus reduced the strain on my back, not having to push that heavy thing around so often.

There were only two types of responses I’d get from the other mums: horror (‘I couldn’t survive without a car!!’ Not really what one wants to hear when they’re trying to be stoic) and encouragement. I’m sure you can imagine which group I made a higher number of friends in! Although this regime was a little too extreme for my joints most of the time, I never had to watch my weight. I ate pretty much what I wanted. It was only once I stopped pushing that heavy pram that my metabolism slowed down a little. Once we got a new car  a few months before we moved here, man, I got fat fast.

In some ways, I don’t regret taking such a drastic break from exercise for so long. I have a horrible hip injury from giving birth to my eldest daughter, and I find that an hour a day of exercise is perfect to stop it from jamming up. More than that just aggravates it. After so many years of walking two hours per day, five days a week, either pregnant and/or pushing prams, my body honestly needed the rest. I enjoy walking long distances, but the amount I was doing became a bit of a drag.

Since  we’ve moved to a remote country town and need to drive to most places, my exercise slipped even more. You guessed it, I kept gaining weight. My hip started getting stuck and sore again. I’m only 5’1, and small-boned, so the slightest weight gain really puts a strain on my joints.

It’s funny; a year ago I wrote this post, about wanting to get into a new exercise routine. I dabbled in walking, but found it not so inspiring. A walk around the block in this town doesn’t take long at all, then once I’ve done that, I don’t know where to walk next! There are no hills, which I’m used to, and everything’s completely flat. I find it hard to raise a sweat at all, walking around the block. Having grown up as a child in a beach town, and now living further inland than I ever have before, has made me homesick for a good ocean walk. I found a walk I enjoyed, walking in the outskirts of town, and I loved it. No oceans of course, but lots of beautiful farms to look at, and dams with ducks swimming in them. Canola fields and sheep.

Being a new habit and a new town, I didn’t get to go walking as often as I would’ve liked. There was also my partner’s anxiety to consider. I couldn’t/can’t just up and leave the house or the kids with him whenever I feel like it. I’m needed here. It’s far too hot in summer for the farm walk, not to mention snaky.

Recently, my partner and I had a group meeting with his and my support workers about his situation. It became rapidly apparent that I had a need for relaxation, and fast! I suggested yoga, and suggestions of classes flew in, thick and fast. Being in a remote area, this would be costly for us in terms of petrol in addition to the cost of the actual class. I was pretty sure the class timetable wouldn’t fit into our schedule and I knew my chances at actually being able to do my yoga was heavily dependent on what sort of day my partner was having.

So, out of  a need to bring some relaxation techniques into my life, I’ve stumbled into creating a fully-fledged work out area. We have an office attached to our shop, in which we had stored a tv and coffee table gathering dust until we found a spot for them. We went to Big W and purchased a simple book on yoga with a DVD yoga session attached for roughly $11.

The result evolved into this:

It’s nothing fancy, but hugely practical. I had a floor mat handy, so I used that to define the space (these were moved to the shop), and pad the concrete floor for extra comfort. (As you can see, the tv is quite grotty, but I took this photo soon after setting it up and cleaned up the area soon after)

I had a bunch of exercise dvds and equipment I hadn’t been using. I tried using them in the lounge room, but it was too disruptive with children so close by. Even if I waited until their bedtime, the two younger ones would be too distracted by what I was doing to sleep! So although this area started out solely for yoga, it’s opened up the opportunity to solve my exercise problem also. I can go to this area by myself when I know it suits my partner and do what needs to be done.

Once I started getting back into exercise, I realised how much I’d missed this! The stress release, the adrenaline, the feeling of accomplishment. I’ve had a little break from working out for the past few weeks as I’ve had the flu, but I honestly can’t wait to get back in there.

I know some mums who read this will be thinking, ‘that’s all well and good, but she has a separate shop, not everyone has that!’ and this is  true. Trust me, I can relate, having moved from a cramped two-bedroom cottage housing five of us. I also know how it feels to get stuck in a fitness rut, completely willing to exercise, but finding it hard to make it actually happen, due to being a mum.

Here’s some tips I think might be helpful for mums who are truly finding it a challenge to get that much-needed workout time in:

Wear a pedometer during the day and work towards a step-count goal. Incidental exercise is recognised nowadays as being just as effective as time set aside to work out. It’s a good way to ease back into being more active. I did this a few times when we  first moved here, and it encouraged me to do a little more, and planted the idea of looking for places to walk. (Admittedly, I was disappointed with the offerings, but just because it didn’t work for me this time, doesn’t mean it wouldn’t for others)

Look at your obstacles to exercise and try to find creative ways to make it happen. If you can see a chunk of time in your day where your kids can be looked after by someone else, make the most of that time. If gyms and classes don’t suit you due to money or clashing timetables, don’t let that be your reason to give up. If you are able to exercise with your kids and are happy to, then that’s great too. I personally prefer to exercise on  my own at the moment, because I find the alone time is better for my stress levels.

Think about what you’ve got that could help you. Do you have an exercise bike or dumbells gathering dust? Don’t be put off using them just because you may not have been up until now. Maybe you just need to find a more suitable time/place to use them. Where would be the best place for you to exercise without disruption? What time would that be?

Ask for support. If you have a partner, ask them to help you make this happen. You might need them to look after the kids, or help move your family schedule around a little to ensure you get this time. Although my partner has severe mental illness and needs my help with a lot of things, there are still times in the day when he’s capable of spending time with the kids whilst I disappear to exercise.If you’re a single parent, can you get anyone to help you with the kids? If not, can you make walking to school with the kids your exercise? If your kids are older, you can ask them to respect this time of yours, and to avoid distracting you unless it’s urgent.

Where suitable, get the kids involved. It’s really dangerous to have little kids hanging around your treadmill, but there’s lots of ways kids can be involved. If you have a wii fit, you can play that together for some family fun, or run around together at the park or in your backyard. Sometimes Missy 10 will have a go of my yoga dvd. She loves the relaxation it brings, and I think it’s great that she finds a stress release right before the teen years. It’s also her NAPLAN year again, and usually she gets a little stressed about it. As mentioned, you can also walk together. I’m going to mention bike riding here too, because although I hate bikes with a passion, I know lots of family do this, enjoy it and it works for them.

Talk to other mums and find out what works for them. Often brainstorming and sharing ideas can lead to inspiration, especially if it’s a recommendation for a great gym or walking route. Also, let’s talk to each other here, share our ideas and see if we can add more solutions to this list.