Getting My Body Back

Friday, January 22nd, 2009 - Day 35

Because I'm tall, I do wear any extra weight pretty well. But, I know that I'm not my ideal weight and I really haven't been for several years. In the picture attached, I was 10 years younger than I am now and doing lots of modeling. I was a 2-4 and pretty in shape. I hit 28 and things started to gravatate to other areas of my body. I wasn't working out as much and my social drinking didn't help. Once I hit 30, I was 15 pounds heavier than I was in the photo, I couldn't see any abs anymore, and I wore a size 6-8 in clothes. Although, I know I won't get back to the size I am in the picture, the picture gives me hope that I do have some abs down there that can still be uncovered.

I will admit, I've been pretty lazy when it comes to working out. I tend to sign up at gyms and really go hard for a few weeks and then life gets in the way and I start to make excuses to why I don't go as much and eventually - I'm paying a monthly fee, but am not taking advantage. I have been a member of Bally, RiverChase, South City YMCA and Curves and pretty much had the same result. I used to be into working out regularly and I started relying on soccer once or twice a week to fulfill my workouts. I haven't played soccer since I tore my PCL a few years ago and now that I'm going to be 33 later this year, it isn't going to get any easier.

With having a baby, I expected to gain weight but I wasn't sure how quickly I'd be able to lose it after she was born. Pre-pregnancy I weighed 140 give or take (which was still over what I wanted to be) and I weighed almost 180 when I had Tia. I thought I'd get a chance to workout daily with Tia, but that hasn't been the case. She has needed my divided attention and all I've been able to do thus far was to pump my milk makers and check my email. It has been a month and I weighed myself to see where I weighed and I weigh about 160 right now - ouch! I know, I know, it takes time BUT seriously, I really thought I would have been a lot closer to my original weight after a month. No, I haven't done much activity and I know my milk makers weigh a bit BUT I really didn't think I'd weigh 160. I still can't fit into any of my jeans - I've been wearing my maternity pants because they are comfortable and tend to hide my belly.

Sooo, starting this week, I've decided to start a diet and workout regiment. I'm determined to get back to 140 or hopefully 135 and maybe 130 - we'll see ;) My diet started on Monday and I've been drinking lots of water (they say you should drink half your body weight in ounzies daily), so I've been drinking at least 80 ozs of water, which has been pretty easy. No more junk food, fast food, etc. I have been eating a healthy breakfast, healthy lunch and for dinner I can eat a bit more. I snack three times a day at 10:30am, 2:30pm and before bed. The snacks I've approved myself to eat are the following: almonds, hardboiled eggs, string cheese, oatmeal, pickles, yogurt, and other items along those lines. I weighed myself today and I am down to 153, so I'm making some progress. I think most people know I have the worst diet in the world and I've been lucky to have a metabolism that let me eat fatty foods but since I hit 30, my metabolism is just not the same.

Yesterday, I started my workout portion. I've been forcing Tia to like her swing a little bit more each day. She really doesn't like it, but she'll tolerate it for at least 30 minutes at a time. If I'm lucky, she'll fall asleep and I'll have a bit more time as well. I bought The Tracy Anderson Method presents Post-Pregnancy Workout DVD and I really like it. It isn't the hard core aerobic, sweat your balls off video which I typically will drop after one try. It is not easier in any way, but it eases you into each workout technique and although you aren't jumping around the room, you break a sweat. When I was done that first time, my shoulders, triceps, abs and other body parts were already aching - definitely results oriented. If I'm able to get this workout in each morning while Tia is either entertained or taking a nap, I'm going to try. I truly believe that it will get me back in shape if I'm diligent enough to stick with it along with my new diet (by the way, I've never been on a diet before). I'll keep you all posted on how it is going. I appreciate everyone complimenting how I look after having a baby a month ago, but until I get back to at least my original weight - I won't be happy with my body. Especially since we'll be trying to have more kids sooner than later, I want to beat the bulge between!