Now that the dust has settled (so to speak) and I'm beginning to heal physically from the birth (mentally is a whole other story!) I feel it's now a good time to start thinking about how I intend on getting back into shape post-baby.
Everyone tells you not to rush into crash diets & crazy exercise regimes and I totally and whole heartedly agree. Now is not the time to be working yourself into the ground, now is the time to be enjoying your new baby & adjusting to your new life. And I also know from my previous weight loss journey (I lost 4 stones before my wedding last year) that there are no quick fixes when it comes to losing weight and shaping up. Therefore, I'm being very realistic: I don't expect to "bounce back" straight away, and in fact I don't expect my body to ever be as it was, a few extra stretch marks and a softer tummy and boobs are part of me now, they're my war wounds...proof physically that I'm a mummy, and that I grew my little man safely for 9 months-I'm proud of that, and so am proud of my new body.
But, for my own sanity, for my own happiness and for my health I do want to shift the weight I put on during pregnancy, and I want eventually to work past my pre-pregnancy weight and achieve a new lower weight that will put me in the healthy BMI category (finally!). For the past 3.5 weeks since Albert arrived I haven't been worrying about what I'm eating - in fact I've probably eaten more cakes, biscuits and treats in the past few weeks than I ever have before (think 40+ visitors to ply with tea & cakes, quick snacks, and sugar-fuelled feasts to keep me awake!) Now the visitors have died down, and I'm more settled into life as a Mum I feel like there are no more excuses to eat myself into a sugar-coma!
So, I am setting myself some achievable goals ...
•By Xmas (14 weeks) I want to have lost the 1 stone 7lbs extra weight I'm carrying to get me back to my pre-pregnancy weight.
•By Albert's FIRST birthday on 22nd Aug 2014 I want to have lost a further 34lbs (a loss of 1lb per week each week from Christmas)
•By 6th Dec 2014(my best friends' wedding!) I'd like to have achieved a further 8lb loss and have maintained that loss!
This will total a 4 and a half stone loss in total. Over a period of 15 months. I know this is do-able for me.
How?
I'm not planning a crash diet & I'm not banning any foods at all. I love food & cooking. Always have, always will. And the thought of banning things from my diet scares the crap out of me quite frankly! So, I'm going to do what I know works....everything in moderation. Basically a calorie controlled diet & lots of exercise. It worked for me before, and I know it can work again.
So here's my basic plan...
•eat lots of fruit & veg
•brown bread, pasta and rice products (only occasional white flour)
•drink plenty of water
•mostly replace skimmed milk with almond milk
•LOTS and LOTS of walking with the buggy.
•a once weekly evening swim (starting once my stitches have properly healed in a couple of weeks)
•a once weekly 30 min session on the cross trainer, building up to twice and possibly 3 times a week as my stitches heal & fitness improves.
•keep treat foods to a minimum
•keep treat foods to a minimum
•keep alcohol consumption to a minimum.
•lots of freshly prepared meals rather than processed foods.
•black coffee with sweetener
•tea with sweetener and almond milk
•three meals a day and sensible snacks
•try not to drink my calories, stick to water and very low calorie/low sugar drinks
•try the things I bake but then give out the rest to friends/family/Liam's workmates/neighbours
•try on the whole to make sensible choices when eating out, or at least try to choose just 2 courses instead of 3.
•try not to drink my calories, stick to water and very low calorie/low sugar drinks
•try the things I bake but then give out the rest to friends/family/Liam's workmates/neighbours
•try on the whole to make sensible choices when eating out, or at least try to choose just 2 courses instead of 3.
The idea of these 'rules' is not that I'll stick to them for a set period of time and then go back to eating what I want, when I want, in whatever quantities I feel like - I plan to stick to them long term, so that they become ingrained, and become the way I eat and exercise all the time. These rules allow for treats, meals out, alcohol, and all the foods and things I love, just in moderation.
What are my motivations?
-My gorgeous little boy - what bigger motivation do I need to be my healthiest, and fittest? I want to be able to run around with him, and be a mum full of energy. I also want him to be a healthy child at a healthy weight, I need to be a good role model to my son.
-My vanity - I can't deny this. I am vain, I want to look my best and feel my best FOR ME. Not for what other people think, not to impress my husband - but to impress myself.
-My health - This is a big motivation... Two years ago I was falling down a slippery slope of weight gain, and heading towards a life of weight-related health problems. I decided to turn this around and when I lost the weight I noticed a huge increase in my levels of fitness, my energy and my mental well-being, I reduced my BMI by 7 points and was so proud of my achievement - I so badly want to continue on this journey now that I've had the baby and no longer have to refrain from calorie counting etc.
-Future children - Liam and I plan to have another baby in the future. I want to be at my absolute fittest before I put my body through pregnancy again. I don't want to fall down the oh-so-common slippery slope of not getting a chance to lose baby-weight before falling pregnant again, and gaining even more weight!
-Fashion - I absolutely adore clothes and fashion - especially vintage inspired clothes - I don't get to indulge in this passion as much as I would like mainly due to my lack of self-esteem due to my weight, and because I don't feel I can 'pull off' wearing some of the clothes I aspire to wear. Also, you can't always source the clothes in the size I need (16/18).
On the days where I'm struggling or feeling deflated and tempted to pig-out I will read back over my motivations and hope this will encourage me to stay on track.
Another motivational technique I find really helpful is looking at inspirational images of women with figures I feel might realistically be attainable for me eventually...I call these my thinspiration...
stunning ladies with really stunning curves! who wants to be skinny when you could look like this? :-)
Photo's of me so I can chart my progress visually...
a work photo of me at my biggest 2 years ago (*ashamed face*)
mine and liam's engagement - feb 2011 - at my heaviest :-(
3 pictures of me at my slimmest after 4 stones weight loss pre-wedding last year!
Me at 40 weeks pregnant! 4 weeks ago
me post-pregnancy - 1 week after the birth - a little curvier than I'd like - but I have just pushed a baby out! ;-)
So, I hope to chart my progress on the blog, and would appreciate any advice and support from fellow mummies - how did you shift the baby weight? How long did it take? What inspires you? I'd love you guys to get in touch - any fellow bloggers who want to join me in my quest for weight loss I'd love to hear from you.
Onwards and upwards!
Mrs B
xxx
hehehe ;-)
