We're Having A...

We had our anatomy scan last week and we couldn't help but take a peek at "the goods". The official verdict- it's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We are over-the-moon with excitement!

Happy Holidays!

I know that it has been a very long while since I last updated this thing. I just wanted to let everyone that baby and I have been doing well. I'm just starting my second trimester, which is exciting! I'm due June 18th, which is perfect, because the last day of school for the kids is June 14th, and the 15th is set aside for checking out of our classrooms for the summer. My goal is to not have to take any maternity leave, although I am sure that I am going to require assistance to tear my room apart.

My first trimester was pretty uneventful- I just slept A LOT. I had very little nausea which I am grateful for. I have experienced more weight gain than I would like (approximately 12 pounds), which has been the most difficult thing for me. I really can't wait to get back onto Dukan once the baby is born. I've been really surprised to discover that I actually miss Dukan! In terms of my eating, I really haven't had any cravings (other than the two week period when all I wanted was Satsuma oranges). I've gone back to eating 100% vegetarian (which I was before Dukan) because the thought of any type of meat grosses me out. I've also seem to have developed an aversion to mushrooms (normally one of my favorite foods). I am ashamed to admit that I haven't exercised at all, other than my prenatal yoga dvd that Kyle bought for me- the weather where I live has been cold and gross so I have zero motivation to go for a walk. I can't wait until spring when I can resume my daily walk.

Since I have redeveloped my sense of motivation to blog, I will periodically continue to update this blog to let you know how baby and I are doing. I am also in the process of creating a second blog called Team Craigen that I am going to update frequently for family and friends about the happenings in Kyle, baby and my life (as well as running commentary on being a first-time parent). You are more than welcome to stop on by and see how things are going. Once I begin Dukan again I will start updating this page on an almost daily basis.

I don't have any pictures for how I look right now (chunky), but I do have pictures of our baby. No we don't know gender yet (way too early), but I will let everyone know as soon as I find out.

8 weeks 3 days (looking like a space alien)

12 weeks 3 days (notice the hand waving hi)

It's a Bad News/Good News Sort of Situation

Okay, so I know that I've been terrible with updating this thing, but I've had what I think is a pretty good reason for not updating, so please hear me out...

Okay, so here is the bad news first... Ready? Are you sure? Brace yourself... I have stopped losing weight, and I have to stop Dukan. I hope you aren't feeling let down by me, because I don't want you to feel disappointed or upset, because I do have a pretty good reason for quitting, and I think you will agree that it's pretty awesome!

Are you still with me? Good... Now that I've gotten the unpleasantness out of the way, I can share the good news- I'm not quitting Dukan for forever, just until June 18th(ish), and after that, I'm positive that I will REALLY need to lose some weight. Have you been able to figure out why I have to temporary quit yet? My family was able to figure it out right away (well, except for my step-dad; he thought that I wanted to reserve June 18th to climb either Mt. Adams or Mt. Rainier, so I had to spell it out for him...) Okay, here it is, my reason for (temporarily) suspending Dukan- I'm six-weeks pregnant! See, I told you it was a good reason!

My last post was October 9th, and I found out that we are expecting on the evening of October 10th. I didn't want to post and pretend that I was 100% on Dukan when in reality I wasn't. I'm not the type of girl who goes around lying to others, even if it is a lie of omission, so I decided that I wouldn't post until I told my family (my dad reads this blog, and I don't think that he would appreciate finding out I'm expecting my first child via the internet). The morning of the 10th I was down to 141 pounds, and I've done a pretty good job maintaining that weight so far (I've been fluctuating between 142-144 since then). I've been using the basics of Dukan so far, but I've integrated whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat bread, brown rice, etc. I'm feeling pretty good, although I'm really tired all of the time, and occasionally I have an upset stomach. I've also discovered that suddenly I HATE mushrooms (they stink of dirt), when in the past I've always loved them. I still plan on continuing to blog, although it won't be focused so much on my Dukan journey- instead I will share my parent's success (my dad has lost 15 pounds so far, and my step-mom has lost slightly less; I'm very proud of them and I hope they keep it up). I also will keep you informed of the updates to my pregnancy, although I think that I will set up a separate blog for that; you can choose to visit it if you so wish, but I won't cram it down your throat. I'll let you know as soon as I have it up and running. I have my first ultrasound on November 10th- I'm super excited to see my little Jellybean's heartbeat for the first time! If you ask nice, I might even share the picture with you. :-)

One last note (because I'm sure you're wondering even if you don't have the guts to ask it), yes, Jellybean was planned. Kyle even had a bet going with me that I wouldn't get to my goal weight before I got pregnant, and like usual, he was right!

Day 76 - 20 Pounds Lost!

Happy Sunday everyone! I'm in a great mood today (although the random teenager that I chastised this afternoon might disagree). I am happy to announce that I began Dukan 76 days ago (including the time I took off while on vacation). I also am at the 20 pounds lost milepost (or if you prefer the Imperial measure, 1 stone 6 pounds), which only leaves me 15 pounds until my goal/true weight of 128. I had to go buy new jeans (size 6, woo hoo!) today because my old size 10s are huge- as seen below in this dreadful self-portrait that I just took a few minutes ago.

I'm also happy because this is the least I've weighed in about two years. Once I pass the 141 mark, it will be the least I've weighed since I was in my early 20s. Other news that makes me a happy camper is that my parents are starting Dukan tomorrow! I loaned my book to them about a month ago, and I wasn't sure that they were all that interested in it. Well, my dad just finished reading the book this morning, and now they just left to the store to buy oat bran and fat-free Greek yogurt. They will start tomorrow, and I hope they love Dukan just as much as I do! My dad also asked if it was okay to loan my book out to his friends Lynn and Dave (who happen to be the parents of my good friend Lindi), I of course am more than happy to have them borrow the book as well! I think that Lynn and Dave became interested because I saw them last weekend and between my short hair and my weight-loss they hardly recognized me!

So, without further ado, here are my must current stats:

Days on Dukan: 76
Starting Weight: 163
Today's Weight: 142.9
Total Weight Lost: 20.1 lbs.
% of Body Weight Lost: 12.3%
Starting Dress Size (US): 10
Current Dress Size (US): 6
Amount Needed to Be Lost to Meet Goal Weight: 14.9 lbs.

My mini-goal for the week is to be under 140 by next Sunday; I'm positive I can do it!

Has It Really Been 11 Days Since My Last Post?!?

I just realized that it's been eleven days since I last posted; I'm so sorry about that! I wish I had something profound to say in this post, but really this is going to be a quick update. I will get more in-depth this weekend. (I swear!)

I have been insanely busy this past week and a half, as well as spending four days feeling under the weather. My weight as of yesterday was 144, for a total of 19 pounds lost. I will openly admit that this past weekend I was not 100% faithful to Dukan. I came home from work Friday night exhausted and running a temperature, so Kyle and I ordered pizza for dinner since I had zero desire to cook. Since there were ample leftovers we ended up munching on pizza for the remainder of the weekend, although everything else we ate was healthy and carb-free. I also have been stagnating weight-wise these last 11 days, but like I said at the beginning of the paragraph, I am down to 144 as of yesterday. I was running late this morning, so I didn't take the time to weigh myself. I swear I will actually get up with my alarm tomorrow morning so that I have time to weigh-in.

A big thank you to Moonday, who left me a message yesterday to "come back". Her message kicked me in the rear to make it a priority to post an update. I swear I didn't realize that so much time had passed since I posted last! Heck, I've hardly been online to do anything non-work related, so it has also been 11 days since I last read any of your blogs, so I think I shall go get myself caught up right now! :-)

Have a lovely evening everyone!

An Analogy

Today's Weight: 146.8
Weight Lost Since Yesterday: -1.1
Goal/True Weight: 128
Starting Weight: 163
Total Weight Lost: 16.2 (10% of my starting weight, woohoo!!!)
Days on Dukan: 61

This entire week up until today I've been stagnating- just bouncing around between 147.9 and 147.5. This morning I woke to find a 1.1 pound loss (as the famous Charlotte would call it, a WHOOSH!). I'm thrilled that I finally saw some real movement on the scale. I've also come up with an apt comparison (or at least I think it is); I've come to realize that Dukan is a lot like cross country skiing. Let me explain...

Just like when you cross country ski, Dukan is mostly filled with gentle gliding along and it can get rather boring. It is also a solitary activity where it is up to you to motivate yourself to keep going, especially when the finish is hard to see because it is so far away. The only breaks in the monotony are the hills. These hills are an assortment of long and short, steep and gradual. Regardless of the size of the hill, you are still required to grit your teeth and work your tail off to get up those hills, because no one else is going to do it for you. It is grueling, boring, not very fun, and you have to struggle to stay committed to your task because it seems impossibly long. But, each time you crest a hill you are filled with a sense of accomplishment; when you look back at where you've just come from, you are amazed with yourself, because most people upon facing these hills are content to just take off their skis, walk back to the car, and console themselves by watching Biggest Loser while eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's and bemoaning that fact that they are still overweight. As you begin your rapid descent down each hill, you are exhilarated as the wind hits your face. As you conquer more and more hills throughout your journey, you come to the realization that the thrill of the whoosh downhill always outweighs the temporary burdens of climbing the hill. You also realize that you no longer fear the hills; instead you begin to welcome the challenge so that you can prove to yourself that you are as awesome as you have always suspected you were. As you go farther and farther, each hill begins to become gentler and shorter. As you finish, you look back and are amazed at how far you've come- much farther than you've ever thought you could, and you did it by relying on nothing but your own will-power (and a lot of oat bran). You also come to the realization that the journey is always worth the effort, and that if you can do this you can do anything.

Have a happy Friday everyone!

I need advice...

What in the HECK do I do with this monstrosity?!?

yes, that is a regular-sized 750ml bottle of wine

This thing is freakin' ridiculous!

Kyle brought this home from work today, but now I don't know what to do with it. Can it be frozen if I am unable to use it all in a timely manner? Are there good zucchini recipes out there (other than broiling it)?  I really don't want it to go to waste, so please comment if you have any suggestions!

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot- my weight this morning was 147.5, which was a 0.4 loss from the previous day. I can't believe it has been 59 days already! Time has sure flown by!

Just A Thought

Today's Weight: 147.7
Loss Since Yesterday: -0.9

The weight continues to melt away... I must admit, I was a skeptic when I began this diet, but now I am convinced it works. This diet is not for everyone, but it does happen to work really well for me. I've chosen this topic to write about today because I have been reading Anna's Dukan blog, and she is now advocating that no one do Dukan, and that it is a very dangerous diet. She has lost 30 pounds in a very short period of time, and then suddenly she began experiencing hair loss and abnormalities in her blood. She feels that it was Dukan that caused this, and perhaps it was (I'm not a doctor, and I only know the vague details that she choose to share on her blog). She most certainly should quit if she feels that Dukan is impacting her health, because your health is your most valuable asset. What I do not appreciate is that she is now posting that no one should do Dukan because she suspects that it caused her medical issues. If I apply her logic, I should announce that no one should take penicillin when they are ill because it had near-lethal side effects (severe anaphylaxis that landed me in the hospital for almost a week) the last time I had it. In my analogy obviously penicillin is not for me, but it doesn't mean it can't help others. I feel the same way about Dukan; just because it doesn't work for one person doesn't mean that it won't work for you. If you are concerned about the lack of fruit, remember that (1) the first pure protein stage only lasts a few days, (2) during the second stage you get as many veggies as you want every other day, so if you are eating vitamin-packed veggies such as spinach, bell peppers, onions, etc. you should be fine, (3) the third and forth stages allow fruit, and (4) if you are still concerned you can take a multivitamin everyday (I do). If you really can't fathom not eating fruit then maybe this isn't the diet for you, and I hope you do find a diet that will work for you and that you have all the success in the world on that diet.

Good luck, and Anna, if you are reading this, I sincerely hope you feel better and that you find a diet that helps you to be healthy and happy.

Mini Goal Met (and Exceeded!)

Today's weight: 148.6

My mini goal last week was to be at 150 pounds by today (Saturday); I was able to meet that goal on Thursday, 9/15. My new weekly mini goal is to be at or below 145 next Saturday. I'm stoked to now have a BMI under 25, plus I was able to wear my favorite pair of dress slacks on Thursday for the first time in over two years! The down side is now most of my pants are now baggy and sloppy-looking so I need to go shopping, which I don't particularly care for. Maybe now I will enjoy shopping more since I'm starting to like my body-shape better, plus hopefully I won't struggle as much to find pants that fit properly.

Food wise I've been eating the same things pretty regularly: coffee for breakfast (and egg whites if I have enough time), turkey breast and reduced-fat string cheese for lunch, fat-free Greek yogurt mixed with cinnamon and oat bran as a snack, and dinner with a primary ingredient of either tofu, chicken or salmon (plus veggies if if is a PV day). We are going to have the chicken "fajitas" I wrote about again this week, so we will see if we enjoy them as much as we did last week; I will also be sure to report on the few tweaks that I am planning to make to the meal. We also are planning on having the Basil Thai Chicken that was written about on Dukan It Out. This will be the third time in as many weeks that Kyle has wanted that meal, so I think we've found a keeper recipe!

On the non-Dukan front, I am pleased to announce/brag that today is Bid Day (which marks the end of formal Rush) for the sororities at UW, and my former house (Alpha Xi Delta) met the quota of 37! For all of you who aren't familiar with the Greek System, quota is the maximum number of new members that a chapter can accept; quota is the same for all of the sororities on campus regardless of size. It is very common for many houses to not make quota. If you aren't familiar with the Greek System, please watch the movie Animal House. ;-)

In not so awesome news, Kyle and I went to the grocery this morning to pick up food for the week; as we were about to exit the store a guy in his mid-20s entered. As we were approaching him, he proceeded to lift the leg of his basketball shorts all the way up to scratch himself. Unfortunately he also wasn't wearing any underwear, so he ended up exposing his junk for the whole world to see! This happened about an hour ago, and I still can't get the image from my mind; I suspect that I might be traumatized for life becuse it most certainly was NOT a sight to behold. Once we got over our initial shock at seeing this guy's bare package, plus his vigorous scratching, we about died of laughter.

New Favorite Meal - Easy Chicken "Fajitas"

Today's Weight: 152.6 (day 51)
Total Weight Lost: -10.4
Weight Lost Since Yesterday: -1.1 (how the heck did that happen?!?)

I wasn't planning on posting today, but I just made the yummiest dinner and I just HAD to share the recipe with everyone. My husband found the original recipe here, and I simply made a few modifications to make it Dukan-friendly. As a fajita connoisseur, I will be the first to admit that it doesn't taste exactly like the fajita mixture that you would get in a Mexican restaurant, but it was very hearty and satisfying.

If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think! Also, if you made any modifications that you think worked well please share them at the bottom of the page. Thanks and enjoy!

Easy Chicken "Fajitas"
serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 tsp. pure chile powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. onion powder (I omitted this ingredient because I didn't have any on hand)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbs. cornstarch (I used this, but I don't think that it's necessary; next time I will omit it.)
1/4 cup water (I used about 1/4 cup extra water as I "fried" everything to keep it from sticking)
non-stick cooking spray
1 pound whole, skinless chicken breast- cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 green bell pepper- cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced into half-moons (next time I will add additional onion because I am an onion junkie)
shredded lettuce
fat-free sour cream
Tapatio (hot sauce)

Directions:

1. In a resealable plastic bag, combine the chile powder, salt, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, cornstarch and water. Add the chicken, bell pepper and onion, seal and knead gently to coat. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
2. Heat a large non-stick skillet with the non-stick spray. Empty the contents of the bag into the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add additional cooking spray and water as needed to keep the mixture from sticking, but not so much that it becomes soupy. Remove from heat.
3. Transfer the chicken and vegetables into your serving bowls. Top with lettuce, fat-free sour cream and Tapatio.