That went well.

My mother was not particularly pleased with my new haircut.

Changes in the Gardner House

I've been struggling for awhile now with how much TV Max is exposed to. The TV always seems to be on. Even if no one's watching it, it's on. I feel like Max is going to be accustumed to having the constant noise in the backgroud and this may effect him negatively. I'm mostly worried it's a habit we're not going to be able to break when he's older. So we're going to try turning it on less, starting mostly with me during the day (this excludes the upcoming Tour de France, after all, the boy needs some culture).

Max reads.

We're also starting Max on a bedtime routine, including a bath and cuddle time. He's unable to fall asleep on his own, so my goal is to use this quiet time to get him to fall asleep in his bassinet, and later his crib. Both of these goals are going to be hard to implement after a long day. But they're both important to me so we're going to work hard on them.

Weekly Weigh-In

I always entertain great hopes.

- Robert Frost

I knew this week wasn't going to go well - a belated father's day trip to Zinburger, a Saturday night get-together at Nimbus (and the subsequent lack of a Sunday morning hell ride) did not help my weight loss this week.

I didn't count calories, I didn't record bike distances, and I didn't drink a lot of water. I guess you could say that I was on vacation from my plan. Amazingly enough, though, I didn't gain any weight. The scale says that I lost a bit less than half a pound, but that's within the margin of error, in my opinion. I'll take the fact that I hit the 10-lbs-lost mark as a good sign.

0.4 lbs lost, several miles biked, 6.76 miles walked - vacation ends today.

05.17.2010 Starting Weight: 171.8 lbs
This Week's Weigh-In: 161.8 lbs (-0.4)
Variance to Goal Weight: 16.8 lbs
Total Weight Lost: 10 lbs
My FatSecret Profile

It takes a village

The first two weeks back to work went surprisingly well, all because of Max's wonderful caregivers. I am able to leave each day knowing that Max couldn't be in better hands. His Aunt Megan had him the first week and my dad the second week. I knew Megan would be just fine, and of course she was. Max loves playing with her and Uncle Kyle. My dad was the shocker though.

My dad just dotes on Max. Never leaving his side for a minute, he is constantly talking to him. And Max just melts when my dad holds him. It's so sweet to come home and see Max peeking over my dad's shoulder, just happy as could be.

I'm able to get through my day without ever worrying about Max. He's got such a wonderful family, who all take such great care of him. He's lucky. I'm lucky. Hooray for family.

This Moment

Weekly Weigh-In

That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life.

- Rabindranath Tagore

The Biggest Loser - 12/365 by foshydog, on Flickr.

Better late than never. I weighed in yesterday, but hadn't had the time to post until now.

This week took me by surprise - I did not have the energy or resolve to bike to and from work this week, since I was working bell-to-bell by myself. My only ride came on Sunday, where I hit the wall pretty hard about 20 miles in. I guess the 72-hour work schedule was enough of a calorie burner to lose some weight. I also kept up with my walking habit for the 21st day in a row.

I also did well on the food front. I consumed an average of 1823 calories per day and burned an average of 2370 per day (not including whatever extra energy is spent at work). Although my caloric deficits were not as significant, I consumed about 230 less calories per day last week.

I damn near broke the 10-lb mark this week, but I guess that will have to wait for next week. Time to buckle down, I guess.

1.8 lbs lost, 23.80 miles biked, 7.03 miles walked - back in the saddle this week!

05.17.2010 Starting Weight: 171.8 lbs
This Week's Weigh-In: 162.2 lbs (-1.8)
Variance to Goal Weight: 17.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost: 9.6 lbs
My FatSecret Profile

Louis C.K. on Father's Day

This morning's ride

I've got to do better if I'm going to do the damn Tour in November. Bonking about 20 miles in is a problem.

This Moment

Max and Kyle

I really like this photo of Max and his Uncle Kyle. I don't know what kind of depraved websites Kyle is browsing, but Max clearly doesn't approve.

Working Mom

I return to work today, albeight part-time and the afternoon shift 1-6. These past three months of my maternity leave have been wonderful, emotional, life-changing, hard, awe-inspiring, tiring, and by far the best time of my life. While I'm excited to see my class, I'm a wreck about leaving my baby boy. I know he's in good hands but I'm sad about missing all those little moments. The smiles. The laughs. Even the sad faces. I'm sure it'll get easier. Right????

Weekly Weigh-In

Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.

- Mark Victor Hansen

It was a relatively successful week, though not as good as the week prior. My cycling was better (up to nearly 9 miles/day average), and I kept up with the walking regimen.

The food battle didn't go as well as last week, however. I averaged about 300 calories more each day this last week. My caloric deficit was more consistent, but obviously not as high as last week. I think I need to cut back down on the carbohydrates to help bring my consumed calories down.

1.2 lbs lost, 62.51 miles biked, 9.67 miles walked.

05.17.2010 Starting Weight: 171.8 lbs
This Week's Weigh-In: 164.0 lbs (-1.2)
Variance to Goal Weight: 19.0 lbs
Total Weight Lost: 7.8 lbs

This Moment

I have stolen an idea from Lia's blog titled "{this moment}" which consists of "a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

As you may have noticed, I've added words to mine. I can't help myself. You may also notice, that Max is the common theme. He is my moment. My every moment. So, sorry if it seems repetitivete, but I'd be lying if I put up pictures of anything else.

Weekly Weigh-In

I have an increasing awareness about how incremental true progress actually is. It’s not so much about making huge leaps, but about taking little steps consistently and connecting them together... I’m trying to just remind myself to take a little step every day (or, regularly) and that the important thing is to take another step again tomorrow. That consistency is so important.

Anonymous, christinekane.com

I posted the above photo in February of last year, after I lost 15 lbs in 45 days. I'm back to that weight now, but this time I intend to stay below that mark.

It was another successful week, and I was able to establish a couple new good routines. Primarily, I began walking every day. Last week I walked one day, for 1.5 miles. This week I walked an average of 1.5 miles per day, every day. I rode my bike 6 of 7 days (no thanks to the time-suck that was the Charlie & Chester debacle). Overall it was a good week for physical activity in the Gardner home.

Things went well on the diet front, as well. I adopted a high-protein, lower-carb diet to see if it helped my efforts at all. The jury's still out on that, but I will say that I consumed less calories (about 300 less) on days where my protein intake was higher. Perhaps the high-protein foods satiated me more?

2.4 lbs lost, 61.36 miles biked, 10.77 miles walked. Progress!

05.17.2010 Starting Weight: 171.8 lbs
This Week's Weigh-In: 165.2 lbs (-2.4)
Variance to Goal Weight: 20.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost: 6.6 lbs

Charlie and Chester

Two great danes followed me and Elway and after a long neighborhood walk. They played in the yard until their owners picked them up.

This Moment