You All Will Help Me

Because now... Brother is sleeping in his bed...

Miss Boo is no longer at my eye level when eating...

...and I am on my foot. So.

I no longer have an excuse about this whole baby-weight thing. I can't start exercising seriously for another couple of weeks at least; but I'm going to put My Plan out here in cyberspace and you all are instructed to turn into Mean Jillian From The Biggest Loser if you catch me slacking. So here's what I'm going to do:

1. Eat Mostly Real Food

My definition of real food is real food, as opposed to sugar substitutes, meat substitutes, weird oils that were invented in a lab in 1974... you get my drift. I am not saying that any foods are off limits, but it seems to me that if I eat real normal meats, fruits, vegetables, grains, and fats that I can probably trust my hunger more and just eat until I feel satisfied. For instance, high fructose corn syrup (e.g., Coke) contains calories, but your body doesn't recognize it as a sugar and so you still feel hungry even though you've taken in calories and are getting used to things tasting extra-sweet. You can see how this would be detrimental to losing baby weight.

Likewise, margarine just doesn't taste as good to me as butter--I tend to want to use more of it. So I use the real stuff, in moderation, and bask in the knowledge that I'm getting fat-soluable vitamins as well.

I don't consider it safe to really "diet" since I'm breastfeeding, and need about 2000 calories a day just to break even (as opposed to an "average" woman's need of about 1800 calories). So my plan is to eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full, and drink lots of water, with an occasional cup of coffee or glass of wine.

2. I Hate Exercise

...but I'm going to do it anyway. I have always wanted to read a book about losing weight that didn't include a chapter that said something like, "I used to hate exercise but now I love it!" I'm pretty sure I'll always hate the process of exercise; I don't like sweating, I don't like pain, and I don't like the boredom of consistency. I'm not an athletic person and I'm not overburdened with physical coordination, and I don't have the personality to enjoy working my body hard, AND THAT'S OKAY. Not everybody has to have the same hobbies. You couldn't really pay me enough to train for and run a marathon, but I will knit something on microscopic needles, so I figure I have stick-to-it-ivness.

The way I see it is this: nobody likes to have their teeth cleaned or get a mole removed either. But we do it anyway because the alternatives--rotten teeth or skin cancer--are significantly worse. So my plan is to admit that I don't have to like exercise but also not make it optional. The "Bouncing Back from Baby" DVD I have says "see results in three weeks" so I'm giving it three weeks, working out five days a week.

Right now I'm using the caveat that the three weeks don't start until I get out of the boot, so I'm only doing the floor exercises portion of the DVD. We'll see if it whittles my middle or not. :)

I'm also giving myself the out that if, after three weeks of doing the whole program, I don't like it or don't like the results I see, I can change to doing something else. But I must do something, to be strong enough in the heart and limbs to chase children.

3. Just Keep Going

Pretty much this requires no elaboration. Once my body hits its Point Where It Wants To Be, the exercise and eating will maintain it at that point and I'll stop losing weight. So I'll just keep going.

Sound simple? Good. Yell at me if I start guzzling Cokes or (more likely) say that going up and down stairs to do laundry counts as exercise.

Cheers,

Breanna