Goals and tools

Ok, so you know by now that I set lofty but attainable goals for myself in the fitness arena. I'm finding that as a mama and -let's face it-one still recovering from giving birth and adjusting to a whole new lifestyle, I have to place different expectations and restrictions on myself. For example: I'm breastfeeding. This, I was told by many, makes the weight just melt off. FALSE! It makes me hungrier than I've ever been in my life. I lost all but 10 lbs of what I gained with Lexi within a week of giving birth. I have since gained another 5 lbs because I am SO HUNGRY! I'll admit that on our trip to Nebraska for Christmas I ate whatever was near me , but other than that 5 day period, I've made pretty consistently good choices. However, because I'm breastfeeding, I can't do what I've done in the past to jump start weight loss-can't do a 7 day cleanse and then eat 13-1500 cal a day while I work out 4h a day, 5-6 days a week. I've been advised not to go under 1800 cal a day, and I'm sticking to that pretty well so far. When you're eating clean, that goes a long way!
I'm obviously not working out 17-20h a week again yet-and most likely I won't be for awhile, but as of today, I'm on a mission to do as much as I can each day without letting my home, daughter, or husband suffer. So, here are my goals:
-spin class t/th/Sa starting 2/2/13
-get to goal size/weight by 4/24/13-the nebulous weight goal is 150, but because of the way I carry weight, I'm not sure if that number is right. I weighed 170 in the picture that is my biggest inspiration currently (at 4 weeks pregnant with Lexi!) and I honestly don't know exactly what I weigh right now. I just know I hate the way my face looks in pictures. I'm choosing 4/24 because its the day Lexi turns 9 months old, and there's the saying "took 9 months to put it on, 9 months to take it off!" Well, I think that's a lazy way to think about it, but I've also been on my butt the past almost 6 months too! So now I'm setting the goal of losing the baby weight *and* the other 20lbs I had left by her. 9month bday. :-) this whole wellness journey was sparked by my desire to be a mother, and it continues to be inspired by my desire to be the strongest, healthiest, happiest, best role model of a mother I can. Lexi is gonna grow up knowing that mama has some struggles with the way her body works, but she fights them to take good care of herself and her family.
Another reason to set this goal date for April is because I'm involved in at least one wedding(maybe more) this year, and I do not want my goals to be tied to those events. Once the event passes, it's hard to keep up momentum. By the time the wedding I'm in rolls around I want to be hard at work pursuing my next fitness goal!

Now, my tools. You guys know I love gear, and I've tried a lot of things to help me along the way. I still love my armband for swimming, my cycle shoes, and everything else, but I've added 2 major things to the mix that are helping Mama Mae stay on target. One is the BodyMedia FIT Core armband. This thing tracks everything-my steps, my heart rate, calorie burn, sleep...and I input my food into an app. This helps me know exactly how I'm doing and what to expect in weight loss. I'm super psyched. The other thing I'm using is the Kinect for Xbox 360x I've got 2 games for it so far: Zumba fitness Core, and YourShape 2011. Super stoked to share my progress with you!