Determined to lose this pregnancy weight

I’m on a mission to lose my pregnancy weight.  I wish it would just roll off but it’s not. I have to admit I am really uncomfortable in my skin right now.  It’s bothering me so much but things will get better.  The first thing I did to make myself feel “normal” again was to get out of the maternity clothes.  The pregnant look was cute for me when I was pregnant; not so much anymore.

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How much weight am I trying to lose?  I’m trying to lose the 15 pounds left over from the baby and then I’ll work on the 10 pounds I was trying to lose before I found out I was pregnant.  The main goal is to get back to where I started on the day I found out I was preggers.

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I have to understand that this is a process.  I should have better prepared myself for the post-pregnancy reality.  I have been pretty much fat deficient for a long while so when I got pregnant I was told I needed to make a change which I had already started to change pre-pregnancy.  I had to introduce more fat into my diet which means I have a little more meat on my bones.  This is really hard for me to deal with, but I’m still pushing through.

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The good news is I was cleared for exercise so I’ve been making a go at it.  The bad news is that c-section that I really didn’t want to have has KILLED all my ab strength.  This post c-section life is going to be a little rougher than I thought.  I didn’t have the strongest core strength to start with so I’m really starting all over here.  I will be doing lots of different workouts while I’m still in this recovery period. Yesterday, Baby G cried the entire time I was working out at home and when it was done, she was settled.

I did a Tone It Up workout and will continue to do those because I can do them in my living room.  I’m not sure if I can handle lifting serious weights so these workouts are good for building my strength to previous levels.

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I took Baby G on a little jog/walk on my first day out.  It was like I was learning how to run again because those feet didn’t know how to come off the ground.  But I got into it eventually.  Good thing I was pushing that jogging stroller because it forces me to take things slow.  I knew if I was just going out there on my own, I would probably try to push too much.

Trying to fit in actual gym time is going to be hard. I can’t wait until I can get back to teaching my class in the morning, but I’m not prepared to go back until she sleeps a little better at night. This morning I was able to hit the gym for an incline workout. It feels good to sweat again.

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My major challenges in losing the weight: getting enough sleep and getting my water consumption in throughout the day. It’s those easy things that are going to give me the hardest time but I know without them this isn’t going to be an easy road. I will sleep when I can but the water thing might give me a run for my money. Especially because I’m not really hungry, therefore, I’m not really going to stop to drink either. The more I workout, though, I see the water thing is coming back to me.

This is going to be a journey to get back to where I was but I will be patient.  I’m just so happy to be able to get back to this stuff.  Plus, my mental health will be so much better since I’m able to work out.  I’ve been extremely overwhelmed and frustrated and I know that’s due to not having an outlet for my stress.  It’s amazing how 45 minutes can my attitude.  It is what works for me.

What are some challenges you face in getting your workout in?

Catching up: the anniversaries and baby

Catching up: the anniversaries and baby

I’m barely keeping things together.  Having a new baby is challenging.  It’s not so much the sleep thing that is getting me, it’s the everything else.  Changing of the diapers, feeding and just making sure she’s content are the hard parts for me.  That’s the biggest adjustment in my life. Plus, I’ve been having to do work in the in-between times which is something I didn’t think I would have to do.  But I still have to pay the bills, right? I am learning that I need to make some time for myself.  There’s a lot of learning going on…

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Motivation Monday: Concentrate on what you have

Motivation Monday: Concentrate on what you have

Happy Monday!  I hope things are starting off right for you today.  This post will be short but I wanted to share with you a message of concentrating on what you have and value your worth.  I’ve gone through a period of time of not realizing my worth and questioning things that haven’t happened in my life.  What I’ve learned is that is a waste of time.  Don’t make that mistake. It’s important to be thankful for everything that you are and currently possess instead of longing for the things you are not and don’t have. Those things will come…

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Do I still meal prep?

Do I still meal prep?

I’ve read the e-mails and I know people want more food stuff on the blog because it’s seriously lacking.  I have to be real, we do a modified food prep thing in our house right now.  Eating in our house has been a little lackluster and some weeks I just noticed I was wasting money on food.  The short answer to the questions is: yes.  Now he’s the long explanation: We still make our weekly trips to grocery store and I do start out with good intentions. It’s day to day with me so there are just some days I…

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Don’t be afraid of workout modifications

Don’t be afraid of workout modifications

No workout should ever be too hard, unmanageable or out of reach.  There is always an option for working out.  I’ve learned a great deal about workout modifications and the main thing about working out is making it work for YOU!  There’s no reason to be afraid to try something because you think it’s going to be too hard because there is always a way to modify to your needs and abilities.  And if you’re worried what other people are going to say, don’t worry.  People really aren’t paying that much attention to you at the gym.  Everyone is focused on…

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Nothing is impossible

Nothing is impossible

It’s been said that Willie and I accomplished the impossible by losing so much weight and working hard to keep it off. I never saw it was something as impossible. I never saw it as something that we couldn’t accomplish in time. I never saw it as something that we couldn’t achieve. Nothing is impossible. Some things may take extra steps for achievement or may take longer than we may like, but you will still get there. Think of it as a ladder, you start at the bottom and work your way to the top one step at a time.…

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What’s the first step to weight loss?

What’s the first step to weight loss?

I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails lately about taking the steps to weight loss.  I don’t know where all the new people popped up from, but I’m happy to have you here.  I’ve talked about the weight loss journey many times but I’m going to take a different approach to the topic today.  It’s an ever changing and growing process and I think I have something to add to the subject. So here is my first step to weight loss: Be confident. Embarking on a weight loss journey is physical and emotional.  It was the hardest and easiest thing…

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The time I tried something new for lunch

The time I tried something new for lunch

If you haven’t noticed, I’m a creature of habit.  We eat the same thing all week for dinner, if it’s good I’ll suggest that we have it again the next week.  I’ll eat the same things for lunch too.  It doesn’t bother me. Most people don’t like leftovers, but I love for them.  I guess there’s a little comfort in knowing what I’m getting.  What’s the point on wasting calories on something you don’t like?  I DO understand there is something a little bit wrong with that, but my weekends are for experimenting…not my weekdays. Yesterday I strayed from the…

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Getting back on track

Getting back on track

It’s Monday! It’s the beginning of the new week and it’s time to start anew. Remember, there are good things about Mondays. There are a couple of things I have gotten away from that I think are very important and I don’t know why I stopped going them. The first thing is setting weekly and monthly goals. The monthly goal post was something I did regularly on the blog but I got away from it for some reason. Maybe I thought no one was interested in my goals or just thought it was a meaningless post…and that may actually be…

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Five Things You Can Do to Lose Weight …

Five Things You Can Do to Lose Weight now

It’s not a hoax or whatever.  People often ask what we did to lose weight or how we got started.  The is a simply answer and long answer so I’m going to give you a clif notes version.  It starts with a few simple things that will help you develop healthier habits. Cut the soda.  This is where we started from day one.  There was no more soda to be had.  I really have no idea how many calories I was consuming just by drinking soda.  It’s a mindless habit but those soda cans add up to major calories.  Or…

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Why must a black woman choose between her …

Why must a black woman choose between her hair and health?

Welcome to Transformation Tuesday and I wanted to talk about something different today.  I can’t and won’t deny the fact that I’m a black woman and once upon a time, I didn’t want to work out because it would mess up my hair.  This blog post may not appeal to you or be something you can’t relate to so it’s ok to skip this one if you want.  But for now, I must keep talking. (Afterthought inserted here) I want to preface this blog post by saying that our hair is not more important than our health. I am writing…

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