Our baby is almost 2 months old. Sleep, life and work is almost back to "normal". The 6 week waiting period has passed and I am ready to lose this pregnancy weight. Some has come off naturally and I am still drumming up the motivation to get started with an exercise routine. It is not that I don't want to lose weight. I am certainly not in denial about needing to lose the pregnancy weight. It is more of a motivational issue because of the following:
TIME & SPACE
It was hard enough to make time to exercise before I had the baby, now there is much less "me" time. Plus, it seems like everyone is always around me in the house. If I have to leave the home to exercise, it takes me extra time to get ready because I have to settle my other son for homeschooling, get presentable, make sure my business needs are met, prepare and support the milk filled breasts, etc. This all makes it a hassle to go to the gym or aerobics class. I know this will pass as the baby gets older and life becomes even more organized. For now, I need to make myself add this one more thing (exercise) to the schedule and have everything else work around it. This is hard!
* I have to make time to exercise NO MATTER WHAT and remain consistent.
EATING HABITS
I just noticed that the whole family's eating habits have been changed for the worse. It is not that I did not eat healthy while pregnant, but I was much more flexible about portion sizes, starches and junk that I typically did not permit in my diet (lots of craving given into). Max's dad put on weight, too. He has become totally unrestrained and obsessed with fast foods (cinnamon buns, burgers, pizza, ice cream, pop, etc.). My 2nd oldest son, Jonny, is now addicted to things I monitored more closely. I didn't realize this until I saw empty pop cans in his room. Last night, he told my mother that French fries are his NEW favorite food. What a bummer coming from the mouth of a child that used to prefer to drink water to any other beverage and loved eating broccoli with dip. Yesterday, I had a totally healthy eating day that ended with a sweet attack. My will power is shot
* I have to established the better eating habits and exercise will power. Hopefully, my changes will carry over to the other family members , though I will not give in when other family members choose not to do what is best for their bodies.
MOTIVATION (Self-Motivation & Motivation From Others)
The time, space and eating habits are common issues for why healthy people have a hard time losing weight. Losing weight after pregnancy is not much different, though can be a challenge for breastfeeding or single mothers. Regardless, doable in any case so long as one knows the issues are and how they can solve them. This is where the self-motivation comes in to play.
* I have narrowed down to what I need to do to lose weight.
GETTING STARTED - "The best laid plans of mice and men" ...
No matter how carefully a project is planned, something still may go wrong, therefore I better make reasonable plans according to my "issues". 1) Time / Space = I will set my schedule to exercise AT LEAST 3 times a week and for AT LEAST 1/2 HOUR each session. If I can do more ... great! If not, I can do at least what I committed to do for my body. 2) Eating Habits = I'm 5'8 and medium boned, so I Googled to find the ideal weight for my height and got the following: "According to your height of 5' 8" your ideal healthy weight is 147 pounds. Your recommended weight range is between 131 and 164 pounds." I think 1600 calories a day will work fine for my starting goal. It just depends on how my body feels and nursing. I will start by going back to the way that I ate before I got pregnant (cutting down breads, sugars, chocolate ... lots of water) and then work down to a low fat, high protein and vegetable diet. I'll post again to let you know how "it's" going, but I am interested in your motivational tips, challenges, success stories, etc.
If you are in the process of losing weight after pregnancy or have already accomplished your weight loss goals? Please make sure to share your experience in the comment section below.
Here's To YOUR Weight Loss Success!!!
In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child
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