Spent the night revamping the layout, updating the profile, etc. The tricky part to this is that the email that I started this blog with is no longer active, and there is nothing I can do to reactivate said email or change it. That's what I get for starting a blog with a company email, on a company computer, during company time. [Thank you, Ms. Burkholder!] ;-)
Now that I am no longer employed full-time, or rather, that I'm now fully employed as a mother/housewife, I've been thinking about how I plan to use all of my "free" time. I'm itching to start using some of the creative juices I've felt bubbling up inside of me, but aside from cooking, I haven't really committed to much as of yet [although according to my darling boyfriend, I'm doing very well on that one!]
Around the new year, we all make resolutions--promises to change our lives for the better, to alter our habits, rid ourselves of vices, makes ourselves "happier" somehow. The problem with most of us is that we try to do too much at one time--we set too many goals, at unattainable heights, with no support system to help us follow through on those commitments so that by January 20th we are eating full pints of Ben & Jerry's in bed, after midnight, following a night of heavy drinking with a pack of cigarettes nearly emptied and there is NO WAY you are getting up in the morning to work out. The 90 day challenge you signed up for only made it to about 12...okay, really day 8 before you cheated, but hey, who really does those things anyways?
My point is, I want to set attainable goals for myself. I want to use my time wisely; I want to be able to care for my daughter and household, while still challenging myself.
Priority number one right now, like most postpartum women, is to get back into that pre-pregnancy shape. But how to do it? I purchased the P90x DVDs a while back, but was unable to use them due to my first pregnancy and the issues from that. The plus to doing this would be that I wouldn't have to find a sitter for my daughter when I want to work out--I can do this in my living room while she naps, and there is enough variety in the DVDs to keep me stimulated. I've watched the videos enough to know that it will keep me entertained.
At the same time, having a baby is pretty exhausting in itself. Sometimes, once I finally get her down for a nap, I just want to relax myself. It's definitely a struggle to get myself off of the couch. My goal is to have myself in decent shape by springtime, so that I can look into playing volleyball again--I never need motivation there!
The other issue here is diet. My boyfriend is wanting to start an Atkins style diet that eliminates carbs, sugars, starches ..while I am more than willing to cook meals for him that allow him to maintain this diet, I'm not one for eliminating whole food groups. I'm considering doing a Body by Vi supplement to my exercise regimen. They have a basic package that is basically a meal replacement shake--by just replacing one meal a day, say, using the shake in the morning before a workout--I could use that to jump start my diet. I could also just go the slim fast route, and probably save the money.
Part of the struggle I've had is that I am recovering from a C-section. This wasn't the plan, so I was not happy to learn that it would be 6+weeks before I could exercise. I also had planned on breastfeeding, which hasn't gone the best either--and it's a bit of a catch-22 here, because to be successful at that you need to have a healthy diet, more calories [it takes a lot to make that milk!] and I never feel like I'm eating/drinking enough to get where I need to be here! Also, my incision was infected after I came home, so I was on antibiotics for 2 weeks post baby--all of the pump-n-dump really threw me for a loop. Poor baby also lost too much weight after being born, and needed a formula supplement. She's gained weight back and is just a bit below average on her weight, but now she's used to the bottle. I'm bound and determined to give her as much of mother's milk as possible though, so I spend lots of time pumping, trying to give her that via the bottles she has come to love. When I try to watch what I eat though, it's hard. I feel like I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul somewhere in here.
Before I was pregnant, I weighed in at about 175lbs. I don't know where I put all of that weight, but I was overall happy with how I looked. I was a size 7/9, and I'd love to be back down to that range [isn't that every mother's wish?]. 6 weeks postpartum has me now at 210lbs. Again, I'm still not sure where that extra 35lbs is...I mean, I know where some of it is...but 35lbs?! All of my life I never really worried about the number of pounds that I weighed; in high school I was very athletic, and at 5'7'' weight 145lbs and was a size 7. I was perfectly happy with this, because I knew that I was healthy. Pre baby I felt the same--I didn't care about how much I weighed, because outside of drinking a bit too much, I felt perfectly healthy. Today though, I still can't wrap my head around 210lbs, and I won't be okay with it any time soon.
I'm on vacation visiting my parents until the 5th; I would like to start this new fitness plan by the 7th...so, anyone out there have suggestions? Done any of the above before?
