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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Losing IT

Pregnancy is usually the time in your life where you look forward to seeing your belly get bigger.  I can remember when I first found out I was pregnant with Pauly, the excitment and joy took over.  And with that came the frequent checking to see if I was "showing" yet.  As the weeks and months passed, my bump got bigger...and so did everything else.

Shopping for maternity clothes was fun. And as always, there were those few pieces that I loved wearing. Then at about 30 weeks things got a little complicated. My favourite pair of jeans started getting a little too snug around the hips and thighs. Shirts were now too short and I had to start buying bras in specialty shops.  I really thought the clothes I bought at the beginning would get me through to the end.  So, reluctantly I headed back out to buy enough clothes to last me 10 more weeks.

After Pauly was born I lost some weight. Then after about a month I gained some of it back.  It was only a few pounds but of course I could only blame myself.  I choose napping for an hour over preparing a meal. So I found myself eating caned and boxed food most of the time.  Not to mention the shamefully frequent junk food binge.  I think Pauly was about 4 months old when I decided I'd had enough.  I slowly stared using the elliptical and started cutting out the junk food. It took a while before the first few pounds came off but I was headed in the right direction.

When Paul and I decided to have another baby, I kinda gave up on the elliptical. It all happened way sooner than we thought but before I knew it, my baby bump (and the weight) were back. I can proudly say that I didn't gain as much weight while pregnant with Riley. But since I had started out bigger, I was exactly where I'd left off when Riley was born.

There was a period of adjustment for me. Caring for two children was a lot different than just one. But after that, I was back into my old routine of quick fixes for food. As the new year came and went I tried to find ways to exercise but there was just no time or I was just too tired. It was a vicious circle; the extra weight was making me lazy but I had no energy to do anything about it.

Once the warm wether showed up I'd had enough (again!). Riley was finally sleeping through the night and I was feeling a little more like myself. I wanted out of this rut and had made up my mind to just get moving. The best time for me was after breakfast. The kids were happy and I had energy to waste. Instead of cleaning up the breakfast dishes and toys that had been tossed around the house that morning, I stuck the kids in the double stroller and started walking.

This wasn't an every day routine but I had to start somewhere. It felt good to get out but at the same time I knew it wasn't going to be enough. I found myself constantly thinking about my health, and life in general. It's not that I was unhappy, but I just wanted to get as much out of life that I could. This was when I adopted the Carpe Diem philosophy.

So I set some goals and reevaluated my eating and activity habits. I started looking for ways to cut fat and refined sugar from my diet. Then I came across an app that I can no longer live without. My Fitness Pal has really helped me make better food choices and keep my portion sizes in check. It took some getting used to and I still have a long way to go but, I think I'm doing well. I still indulge in the sweet and savory every now and again but not like I used to.

It's been 5 weeks using My Fitness Pal, and 2 months since I started my "lifestyle change" and you're probably wondering exactly how well I'm doing. I'm very happy to announce (insert drum roll here) I've lost 10 lbs. A small step but at least I'm getting there, slowly and steadily. My ultimate goal is to be back to my prepregnancy weight by next summer or sooner. And now that I've put it to (cyber) paper, I'll hopefully stick with it.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Joyous July

This past month has really tested my newly adapted Carpe Diem philosophy. And in my opinion, I've kicked ass. There's always room for improvement but so far we've played in sandboxes, watched the train while enjoying watermelon (always an outside snack in my house!), traveled to Wasaga and Midland, gone fishing, swam in a pool and enjoyed the beach, and of course there's the classic play place, the park. What's next on the agenda? I'm thinking the Toronto zoo, the Streetcar Museum, and possibly Sandbanks Park.

So as the summer continues I'm sure our tans will get darker, which I guess is why they call it sunscreen, and not sunblock. But what's cuter than a 2 year old running naked through the house with a pale bum? Not much in my opinion.