2 Things

1.  Blaise woke up Thursday morning with a temperature of 98.6, woohoo!! :)

2.  I broke even with my weight loss ticker this morning, so be on the lookout for that thing to start jumpin'! :)

Progress

You might have noticed that my little ticker has begun to slowly move in the "right" direction! :) I have been working out regularly for 6 weeks now and I can really feel the difference. The first 4 weeks I actually gained some weight, but I was assured that muscle weighs more than fat, so that was all good. After 5 weeks I had dropped 4.1% in body fat and added around 3% in muscle mass (even with gaining weight!). I could tell last week that I was at a turning point though and that my body was ready to lose...and now I am down 4 pounds! My ticker is in kilograms so I don't have to look at *really* big numbers on the other end (and my scale is in kilos, too, so that makes it easier).

Something I also started doing differently this past week was really making sure that I didn't eat carbohydrates in the evening. Please don't misunderstand, I think no-carb diets are BOGUS and NOT HEALTHY! I made sure I ate carbohydrates for breakfast and usually had some kind of pasta for lunch. What I am trying to also be careful about is to get *enough* calories since I am still nursing. My target is between 2000 and 2300 a day for this reason. One night I was lying in bed and I realized I had calculated something wrong and my calorie intake for the day was too low (like 1450!), so I got up and ate.

Another thing that has helped me have an overview of what I am eating and taking in calorie and fat-wise is this website: http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/ I am a sucker for things like this - it's fun! - and it has really helped. It is free and offers you an online journal of what you are eating daily. You just enter in your food and the amount and it calculates the dietary information. You can also add your own custom enteries with information directly from the food packaging as well as activities.

Thanks for all the support everyone, the first signs of success are sweet!

"Moves"

In an effort to lose the rest of my Blaise padding, I joined a gym. "Moves" is similar to "Curves" in the US, if I understand correctly. I have been going for 4 weeks, at least twice a week, but usually three times. I like it for various reasons - besides the obvious I feel better reasons - there are:

* there is always a trainer there training with you

* it is a circut, so my workout lasts only 33min!

* it is a mix of weights and floor exercises, so I am building strength along with a cardio workout

The first few times I went, I took Blaise with me. The first time, he was content to play in his buggy. The second time, not so much. He is so alert and active now, that he wants to be part of the fun, so just putting him on a blanket with some toys *outside* the circle of activity isn't a possibility. Now, I have worked it out with Jan's mom and step-dad, Noemi and Willi, that one of them (or both) takes Blaise for a walk while I work-out during the week. (Daddy gets to have Blaise all to himself on Saturdays!) Andrea also got in on the action one morning. I think this solution is the best for everyone - I can do something for my fitness (in hopes not only to stay healthy myself, but to act as a good example to Blaise), Babi and Willi get to spend time with Blaise, and in turn Blaise gets to spend time with them instead of watching me sweat.

I have added a ticker to the top of my blog for you all to keep track of my weight loss progress. Hopefully it will serve as motivation for myself and seeing it move will be a great pat on the back!