You have to start somewhere…

Posted on Posted in Fitness and DietTagged

Since I’m trying to kick my own ass into getting into shape, I thought I’d hold myself to blogging my exercise this week. My promise to myself is to try each 10 minute workout on the 5 disks of the WeightWatchers PointsPlus Fitness Series with Jennifer Cohen.

Yesterday I did the Cardio Basic, which unfortunately did a number on my knee. I am planning on asking my doc for a PT prescription so I don’t make it any worse. I decided to do the Upper Body Boot Camp 10 minute beginner workout to give my knee a break.

So far, this video series is challenging, but not overwhelming. Yesterday’s 10 minutes left me with just a little bit of muscle soreness, but not enough to deter me from doing it again today. This, I think, is key. The program is a slow ramp-up process. I mean, seriously, after being sedentary for so long (thanks, pregnancy and injury!), who is going to be able to do a full-on 60 minute work out, even if it is “just yoga.” Yoga, even if it doesn’t hurt when you do it, if you just started, can make it hard to move the next day.

The reason I haven’t been going out on walks for exercise, or doing a 10 or 20 minute video, is because I figured it wasn’t worth it. I might as well be sitting down, watching TV. Perhaps just 10 minutes, even if it is only 10 minutes, is what I need to get back to my goal of being in better shape.

Then there’s the, “well, I plan on thinking about the next kid in a year, by the time I lose weight and get in shape, I’ll be pregnant again!” But then there’s the opportunity to make sure my next pregnancy is even more healthy than before. Also, I’ve become more concerned about health and longevity now I have the little guy in my life. I really want to cut down my sugar and refined carb intake (which is hard in Girl Scout Cookie season.)

But anyway, day 2, 10 minutes done, and maybe a walk later. You have to start somewhere… (and I started my training for a half-marathon at 10 minutes of running, so, there ya go.)

Dragging (myself out)

Posted on Posted in Fitness and Diet, MotherhoodTagged , ,

Motherhood is hard. I did not have any idea what I was getting myself into. Mind you, I have no regrets, as that my son is pure awesome. I am, however, tired and finding my equilibrium.

The kiddo and I had a fall at about 6 wks, and that was quite a blow to my body and my mind. Within the next few weeks, my world shrunk. To say the least, I’ve made a lot of excuses as to why I can’t do whatever it is I need to do, including exercise.

I re-committed to WeightWatchers a few weeks ago – and when I say commit, I mean, go to meetings. I’ve been having trouble getting back into exercising for a few reasons, some being physical. Since my fall, my right knee (injured in high school, thanks color guard/marching band!) has been really painful, and my left hip (which went wonky during my pregnancy) is still wonky. And finally, I’m just not the superwoman I was. Mind you, I had a kickass birth, but I couldn’t run a half marathon right now.

I purchased the WeightWatchers PointsPlus Fitness Series with Jennifer Cohen 5 DVD set. It comes with (on each disk) a 10 minute beginner, 15 minute express and 30 minute full workout, and a plan to get started. This week, I’m doing 5 days of 10 minutes. I’m writing this because I just finished my first 10 minutes, which included a warmup and cooldown. I’m hoping that this may be a start of getting back on track.

We’ll see how it goes!

Dom Perignon – Adventures in Lactation

Posted on Posted in MotherhoodTagged

One of the difficult things of my new motherhood has been trying to get this whole fabled breastfeeding down. It turns out it’s a lot more complicated than anyone would have you believe. It’s dependent on the mother, her breastmilk production and her patience/skills getting the kid to feed, as well as dependent on the child and their ability to suck properly, be awake and stay interested.

There are a lot of things that possibly didn’t go right with my breastfeeding. It’s too complex to tease out what went awry first and when. At any rate, I’ve gone to a lactation consultant (using hospital grade breast pump, using various supplementing tools), followed the recommendations of the pediatrician to keep the kid fed (he’s on a supplement of formula), and now I’m going to a naturopath who has prescribed me domperidone, which is not FDA approved (though approved in Canada, and available there), and isn’t even for lactation, but for Crohn’s disease with the side effect of increasing lactation. In America, you can be prescribed Reglan (also for digestive issues) off-label for lactation, but it has a host of nasty side-effects, including tardive dyskinesia and increased incidence of depression (which is not good if you’re already at risk for post-partum depression!)

I was instructed to take my prescription to a specific compounding pharmacy, which was a bit out of the way for me. I was told not to say anything, not to talk about it, just to hand over the slip of paper. I was also told that other mom’s had said that this pharmacy was good – and that the quality of the substance beat what they got in Canada. It makes me wonder what other kind of not-exactly-legal-yet-legal substances I could get from this pharmacy.

I titled this Dom Parignon just because the name of the drug sounds like the champagne. It’s not like I haven’t been recommended a host of things to increase lacation. The list, so far:

Avocado
Oatmeal
Almonds
Goat’s Rue
Fenugreek
Guinness
whisky
domperidone
Reglan
meditation/looking at my child’s picture

Seriously.

It’s quite an adventure so far. Now, hand me some bourbon.

2012: Fitness

Posted on Posted in MotherhoodTagged ,

I’m coming to the end of the first month of motherhood, and realizing that I have a long way to go to return to my pre-pregnancy shape. At first, I was sure I would just pick up some inexpensive clothes at a thrift store to tide me over for the (hopefully) brief period of being too large for even my largest clothing. I hatched this idea about a week ago, and haven’t managed to get into the store to execute this plan. I also started tracking my food using Weight Watcher’s eTools – though I can’t say I’ve done well following the plan until this week, which so far I’ve made a noble attempt.

What this has gotten me, though, is about one pound up and a bit down. I’m still wearing maternity clothes (when I happen to get out of my jammies), and I’m feeling a bit dumpy and down. I know this is par for the course for a new mama, and I’m not sure how to break out. I’ve done my body measurements to see what size I am, and it’s hard to get a grip that I can shop at plus-sized shops (in the smaller sizes). This, oddly enough, makes me relieved more than sad. When I was at my largest (which was 60+ lbs from where I am now) I would occasionally have that blissful experience of trying something on at a plus sized store, looking in the mirror, and saying, hey, this looks good on me! This wouldn’t even be at a time where I was experiencing weight loss. Size doesn’t tell you if you look or feel beautiful. It’s hard to remember that.

Fitness is something else – that’s about how I feel and less about how I look. At my most fit, I was bothered by being able to see all the sinews in my neck, or how narrow my face would appear. Also, my wrinkles were more prominent! While I think I looked good (and was, frankly, stillthe fashion industry’s “plus size” 8), I wasn’t so keen on my face. What I really liked was being able to run and feeling strong and fit. That felt pretty awesome.

I’m not sure how or when I’m going to be able to get back into shape. Today may be the first step. It’s not that I can’t afford new clothes, as to thankfully my job pays me enough that I *can* – I just didn’t want to spend money on what was going to be a short-term solution. Realistically, though – it took 9 months to put on this weight (45 lbs!), so it will take time to take it off.

I have a few personal obstacles right now. The first ones are lack of sleep and being caffeine-free, which drive my hunger for carbs. Then there’s the intense feeding schedule for the newborn, which makes me feel like I have no time for “me” – either for a workout video or going for a walk. Then there’s the weather, which is typical Seattle unpredictable, with miserable chilling rain making me rather stay inside.

There are a lot of things I need to figure out to adjust to this new life. Here’s to the beginning.

2012 Beginnings: An Update

Posted on Posted in Fitness and DietTagged

It’s been a crazy few weeks. A little over three weeks ago, I gave birth to my son – all natural! It was a thankfully short labor, but extremely intense. I don’t remember who told me it was like throwing up backwards, but let me tell you, it’s like the most powerful vomiting experience you can imagine – just through the other end. That being said, I wouldn’t have changed my decision to go without pain medication. Had it been a protracted labor, that may have been a different story. We’ll see what I do next time. 🙂

The first few weeks have been rather brutal, which is expected, though perhaps more so as that my son didn’t put back on his birth weight as fast as the pediatrician recommended. I’ve been on an intense schedule of feeding every 2-3 hours, supplementing breastfeeding with formula and pumping after daytime feedings. He’s healthy, which is what is important, but this is no easy task, let me tell you. He’s adorable, and worth it. I just wish I didn’t require sleep for sanity. I also wish I could drink caffeinated coffee, because man, I could use that in lieu of sleep.

I’ve started up again on Weight Watchers online, and hope to re-join my old group in the coming weeks. I have about 45 lbs to lose, which is more than I had hoped I would have to lose, but due to issues with my SI joint towards the end of my 2nd trimester, I stopped my regular exercise routine. I’m not sure what my schedule will look like, but I’m looking forward to trying out some Pilates DVDs at home, and then maybe hitting up one of the local gyms should time allow. Then there’s running, which I look forward to starting again. Most of the schedule will depend on when I return to work.

I’m still in a bit of a fog, and definitely homebound during the Snowpocalypse. I would love to hear from friends – and will do my best to get back to you. Phones are always tricky for me, so please text, email or IM.