Article by Andrea from A New Day Rises

It’s been a year since I’ve had my baby. He’s not really a baby anymore; he’s quickly bridging the gap towards toddler.

A year ago when I was swollen and poochy, waddling around with 35 extra pounds hanging off my frame, I was consumed with the thought of wearing jeans with buttons. I swear that’s what got me through the last couple of weeks.

Jack was born six days late and nine pounds. I went home from the hospital bigger than when I came in because of all the fluids they pumped me full of. I carried a lot of worries throughout my pregnancy that I wouldn’t slim down; that somehow it wouldn’t be possible. And while I was horrified by the stretch marks that showed up after the baby was born, I was more than pleasantly surprised with how quickly my body adjusted and began shedding the weight.

A week after Jack was born I tried on a pair of jeans (size 8), two sizes larger than my typical size and they fit; just barely (meaning I could squeeze them over my thighs and rear-end and I almost suffocated trying to button them). But still, they fit and I was so encouraged. It only motivated me that much more.

By three weeks post-partum I was walking every day. (I was one of the lucky ones as far as healing goes). At six weeks post-partum I was back at the gym, pushing myself on the elliptical and lifting weights. Of the 35 pounds gained, I had about 10 pounds still to go. I wrote an article here last year with my goals for the year and they rang in my head over and over.

After the holidays I added 30 Day Shred to my work out routine because it was too cold to walk outside with the baby. That DVD kicked my ass; actually, it still kicks my ass. That hasn’t changed.

What did change and has been a life-long battle for me is making healthy food choices. I’m tall and medium-thin by nature (5’8” and 135 pounds). I’ve never wavered in my dedication to exercising, but as I thinned down and reached my pre-pregnancy weight, I stopped being careful about what I ate.

‘I’m breast-feeding’ I would tell myself. And for a while, it was fine. The exercising and overall healthy choices outweighed the poor choices, but everyday I’m loosing resolve. I’m eating Halloween candy, making pumpkin bars; dishing myself up huge portions of pasta and doing stuff I never let myself do before. The worst part is I’m done nursing. No more extra calories burned.

I’m befuddled by my blatant self-sabotaging. Because, truly I like to be strong and healthy and have my clothes fit comfortably. I think that’s why I’m motivated to ‘put it out there.’ Maybe if I have to read this post, on a public site versus just letting it role around in my brain, I’ll be a little more motivated to put the cookies down.

So, before I have 10 pounds to lose (again), I’m recommitting to healthy food choices. I’m going to continue to exercise daily and remind myself that I can always have a treat tomorrow. I don’t need one today. I think it’s going to be hard.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Features, Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.