Y’all, as I write this we are smack dab in the middle of an early 4-month sleep regression (he’s currently 3-1/2 months old). I’m exhausted, A is exhausted, and I still haven’t fully moved him to his crib upstairs yet. It’s rough. So rough that I wandered all over our house looking for a piece of chocolate of ANY kind just to dull the tired. No dice though.
I say this not to brag about my lack of sleep, although I know you guys must be jealous. I say this to point out that when the going gets tough and I get tired, then all I really want from life is junk food. This is the opposite of what it should be; I know that to fight the exhaustion that eating well is paramount. I get it. But when it comes to want? I WANT anything but.
Before my 6-week checkup we had amazing friends and family that brought us delicious food and ALL THE DESSERT, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t just throw caution to the wind and consume desserts and muffins and casseroles all the livelong day. It’s what we had on hand, I was tired, and I couldn’t really work out to relieve the stress…so I ate. I’ve never been one to really want to keep track of my weight, and I can honestly say that I don’t have a clue how much weight I gained while I was pregnant. My desire is to look and feel healthy, to be confident in my body, and to be strong.
Now. If you’re a new parent you probably are aware of every single infomercial that is out at this time. And if you’re like me, you kind of love infomercials anyway, amen? For about 6 weeks straight all I saw were Friends reruns and 21 Day Fix infomercials during the wee hours of the night, and I almost pressed “complete order” about 85 times on the BeachBody website. Heck, I want a great before and after too gosh darnit! But the thing that kept holding me back was money. In reality it doesn’t cost that much to buy a workout program, but when you take into effect all of the fantastic free content that’s out there then it really doesn’t make sense to spend 3 easy payments of $19.99. And when I have a background in nutrition and personal training, I just can’t justify the expense.
What I CAN do, however, is use the basic concepts of eating well and working out and apply them to getting in shape post-pregnancy. And seeing as how the food part is always the hardest for me, I started there first.
After all of the generous post-pregnancy meals were gone I cleaned out our house and got rid of any junk food we had left. Then I made a pact with myself that I wouldn’t get crazy about it, but that grocery shopping would only consist of whole, healthy foods and very little sugar. For the most part? I’ve stuck with it, although this past weekend wasn’t a shining example, and so far I’ve been pretty pleased with the results.
I’m thinking about creating a little series about the eats and exercise stuff post-baby, especially because I’ve never known a time crunch like the lone nap time that a baby and a toddler share. Someone is always on the cusp of waking up, and short and effective workouts are key. It also means that eating well must require very little prep time and be easy to do. And at the base of it all is the reality that, in order for this to become and continue to be a lifestyle, it has to be about more than losing weight. It has to be more than feeling confident in looks alone. It has to be about taking care of my body, not just for me, but to honor the One who made it and to bless the ones that it made.
Thoughts? I’m an open book and would be happy to share this journey!
I’d love to hear more about your process. I think I’m far enough past Elsa’s birth that the words “post-partum” don’t really apply to me anymore, but my belly definitely still feels well within the post-partum category.
I’d be interested in learning more about time-efficient workouts, especially those that can be done from home because I’m working within that same shared naptime window too. My weight is back to normal, and I feel as strong as I was pre-baby, but this belly of mine is still pretty flabby despite diet and exercise attempts to deal with it (read: I eat frozen cookie dough when my toddler throws too many tantrums.)
Love the shared struggle in this post, and I’d love to know more of your thoughts!
OMG I snorted at the cookie dough comment. SO TRUE. I eat all of my feelings when Wes throws a tantrum!!!
As a mother of a one year old and a three year old I completely understand the sleep deprivation! It’s exhausting and finding time to prepare healthy food and exercise seems impossible sometimes. I have been doing the Insanity Max 30 workouts, they are only 30 minutes and very intense! Love this post! So real, so true.
PS–look at the difference in your face in this picture today and the one in your video clip on the website.
Looks like you are on the right track. Keep it up and you will get there. It will get easier as the boys get older I am sure.:)
Hang in there. My little one is becoming a toddler, and I can’t imagine the insane challenge of caring for a toddler AND a newborn :-/ I share your eating goals and am recovering from hip surgery. I have been struggling since my son was born to figure out how to eat the way I want to with practically no prep time. If I have any spare time and energy, I need to use it doing physical therapy. I don’t want to spend it in the kitchen 😉
It’s honestly so much fun 90% of the time, but a whole new kind of hectic I’ve never had to face before. But I totally know what you mean…I love cooking and trying new things, but now’s not the time. If I have extra time I want a nap or a shower! 🙂