New fitness challenge

My last fitness challenge seems a distant memory with all that has happened in the past two months. We are in the process of buying a house, which many of you know how time consuming that can be. My son, Liam, just turned nine months old, and not only is he finding new, interesting ways of moving around, but he's entered the blessed separation anxiety stage. Needless to say, we've been spending lots of quality time together! This past week, he started cutting a tooth and began waking during the night, so our days have been filled with catching up on rest...and keeping up with our bubbly baby.

Even though my workout routine has taken somewhat of a back seat, I have lost another few pounds! I can't say that I've stuck with my no-sweets rule, so that weight loss may include a little muscle mass with it, unfortunately. And when we move into our new house and join the community pool, I want to feel good in my swimsuit. The best course of action is to get back at it, and I learned last time that the best way to stick with a weight-loss plan is to make it public. It's hard to veg out and be lazy when I know I'll have to blog about it later.

My goal: lose 10 pounds. My timeframe: 10 weeks. Why 10? Well, it just so happens that 10 weeks from today is my 10-year high school reunion. Enough said. 

I'm pretty confident that this time around will be a little easier, even though it's the last 10 pesky pounds I need to lose. My biggest hope comes from the fact that since Liam turned nine months, I've retired the breast pump and am going to stop breastfeeding. (Don't worry, I have plenty of stored milk to last until his first birthday.) This is important for several reasons:

 1. I've been reunited with my dear friend, caffeine.

Yes, believe it or not, our morning cup of joe can actually increase the effectiveness of our morning workouts—as long as we don't load it up with sugary, creamy goodness. You can read about this here and here. And it gives me the energy boost I need to tough out a longer workout. As if I needed any more reasons to enjoy my morning latte!

2. I can have dairy again.

For the past nine months I've had to practically eliminate dairy products from my diet because it upset my little tyke's tummy. But it's actually been proven that healthy servings of low-fat dairy products can help trim belly fat (as part of a healthy diet, of course...that doesn't mean you can eat tons of doughnuts and milk and still have a six-pack). See for yourself here.

3. I have more time (and energy) for my workouts.

Pumping 6-8 times a day was a great calorie burner, but it also drained my energy and took about 1.5 hours of my day. May not sound like much, but I'll gladly take it! 

4. Simply eliminating pumping might possibly help me shed a few pounds.

Breastfeeding played a significant role in helping me lost my pregnancy weight. Most of the weight (about 22 pounds) melted off by the time my six-week postpartum checkup rolled around. But, it seemed that my body went into survival mode after that, clinging to those last 6 pounds for dear life. I've had several friends say that they hit a plateau in their weight-loss plan until they stopped breastfeeding/pumping completely, and then they lost several pounds within the first couple of weeks that their milk dried up. So, I'm hopeful.

5. I can finally cut some calories.

While I was breastfeeding, the only rule of weight loss I couldn't follow was cutting back on calories. Now, that's not an issue, so I can safely eat less calories and not worry about it affecting my milk supply. I'm back to reducing the amount of sugar I eat, allowing myself one treat a week, and I'll be loading up on fresh summer fruits and veggies. 

Just in case my looming high school reunion, and the fact that I'm documenting my progress, weren't enough accountability, this time around, I will post before/after pics at the end of the 10 weeks. And I'll also tell you all my starting weight: 139.8. My goal is to break into the 120s...and stay there.

Today, I completed Insanity Plyo Cardio Circuit, P90X Ab Ripper X, and some heavy bag drills. Off to a great start!

I want to know what your favorite go-to workout is! Feel free to comment below...