Thursday, November 13, 2014

Picking myself up and going again

Last year I began a journey of creating a healthier, happier me. Then I got pregnant and though I tried I was not feeling healthier. I decided to take a break from my goal and focus on a new goal: my VBA2C.

Now I'm trying to get back on track. I think I have given myself ample time to heal from my cesarean and since september have been slowly trying to ease myself into things again. And of course, by slowly, I mean at the pace of a snail. SLOW SLOW SLOOOOWWWW.

I started off with a Whole30. What I love about this blog is that its a great outlet for me to be honest. That being said- I HATED IT! Yup- my 3rd whole30 probably just taught me that at this point in my postpartumness I emotionally "needed" the freedom to eat anything I wanted. I think it had more to do with me feeling slightly trapped with the demands of nursing, having a newborn, and a new total of three children. Eating what I wanted sort of gave me a chance to feel like I had some "fun" happening. Not to say that the other stuff isn't fun- its just sort of draining sometimes. I managed to get through the whole30 basically because I had a sister and brother in law doing it with me and I didn't want to have to tell them I quit. Thanks guys :D! It was good for me to do and I lost 8 lbs. or was it 10??? I can't remember. Obviously it didn't stay off because I have blocked it out of memory. LOL.

My next step was to start with Briana Christine from Bikini Body Mommy on her Bikini Body Mommy challenge 2.0. That lasted a good week before I fell off that band wagon (this started the same time as the Whole30). I don't think I was in the right mind set. I was so grumpy about not getting to eat the Cheetos, ice cream, and cheese that I wanted that I sort of felt like not working out was a great way to rebel against the system. GO ME (I'm awesome)- I'm quite the "rebel-without-a-good-cause" type.

Where does that leave me? Oh yeah. Feeling sort of self loathing for having not lost that last 25 lbs. of my baby weight (I gained 50- sheesh). But slowly sliding myself of the pity party booze cruise, one little piggy at a time, I have started doing a little more right by me.

Now- if you are in the same boat as me or feeling like a change feel free to do what I'm doing.

1. Find a friend to help you. Yeah my friend might be my only link to sanity right now and my only reason for putting on my ASICS some days. If you are completely able to motivate yourself and stay that way then don't worry about getting a friend to help. I need it though- especially this time around.

2. Brag your heart out. Thats what the friend is for. You probably don't need to go brag to the internet that you only ate 4 cookies instead of the whole dozen you know you could eat. Or that you decided to try your fat pants on and they fit- even though you had a huge muffin top and had to suck in to button them. People might not give you the praise your looking for. You need a friend to tell you that no matter how small and insignificant and slightly stupid that thing you did was still great.

3. My friend and I have been taking the nights to let each other know what we plan on eating for the next day. I used to always try to make that a plan for the whole week but lately just taking it a day at a time and knowing what I have in my house makes it much easier. I spend less money and I use what I have.

4. We let each other know when we don't live up to what we planned. It's sometimes hard to do but it helps me feel a little more accountable.

5. Lastly, we Pinterest search some awesome motivational quotes and pick one for the week. The next brilliant part- WE USE THEM AS THE LOCK SCREENS TO OUR PHONES! Genius right? I think so. This way I actually read the quote and it motivates me multiple times throughout the day. There have been times where reading that quote has inspired me to work out for the day or even as little as not putting the sour cream on my nachos. (Yeah, I probably shouldn't be eating nachos).

My end game with this whole plan is to eventually (when I feel ready) step up my effort and lose the extra baby weight by the time my little fella is 12 months or so. It took 9 months to put on but I know, that being a sleep deprived and emotional-eating mother of three, it will take longer to take off. My theory- If it comes off slowly it will stay off longer and less yo-yo-ing.

Thanks for reading this slightly ridiculous post on what I'm doing. If you need a free work out routine that doesn't take much time each day I totally recommend Bikini Body Mommy. Its a really motivating and fun program. What are you doing to help stay healthy? Let me know! Maybe we can motivate each other.