Begin Again

It is now 2012. I now have a newborn baby. I now have gained back all the weight I had lost prior to pregnancy and then-some. I now begin my weight-loss journey again. At this moment I have a renewed exuberance for getting healthy... and by healthy, I really mean skinny but by healthy means.

2012 has to be about being honest with myself. My success was limited before by my tendency to let myself slide. I would underestimate my calorie intake and overestimate my fitness/activity level. I'm sure this didn't impress anyone, nor did it do anything for getting me to my weight-loss goal. This year I have to hold myself accountable, and by being 100% honest in my blogging about my progress I'm hoping I can do a better job of that.

My number one priority for improving my health in 2012 is continual education when it comes to my body, the foods that are good for it, and the exercise necessary to keep it strong. I shall become a devourer of fitness/health/diet information.

My second priority is to not be so hard on myself. I must constantly remind myself that it took me 9 months to gain this weight, and it will take me 9-12 months to lose it. I will not magically get myself down to 160lbs in 3-4 months, nor should I expect to be able to. To lose such a large amount of weight in such a short amount of time would be incredibly unhealthy, and I need to recognize that.

My third priority is to focus on "waist not weight". Although I will weigh myself weekly as part of staying accountable - my main course for tracking my success should be in inches lost, not the number on the scale as this can sometimes be deceptive.


Now to lay it all out... my fluctuation since starting this blog:

September 2010:

• Weight: 205lbs (I had a really crappy scale, so I think this number was probably closer to 210 or 212)
• chest: 41"
• waist: 37"
• hips: 47"
• thighs: 27.5"
• biceps flexing: 13.5"

 February 2011 (official pre-pregnancy weight/measurements):

• weight: 197lbs
• chest: 39"
• waist: 34"
• hips: 45"
• thighs: 26"
• biceps flexing: 13"

January 2012 (official post-pregnancy weight/measurements):

• weight: 216lbs
• chest: 43"
• waist: 37"
• hips: 48.5"
• thighs: 28"
• biceps flexing: 13"

So there it is. I'm thinking about posting some "before" pictures as well, just to keep things in perspective for myself. Looking at purely measurements, I'm not really much bigger today than I was in Sept of 2010, but I surely feel much larger. When I look at pictures from then I feel like I looked quite a bit slimmer than I do now... the other tell-tale sign: none of those clothes from late 2010 fit anymore. That's a BIG sign that regardless of what the inches say, I'm carrying my weight much differently today. 

I go for my postpartum check-up on Wednesday, and am hoping to go from there straight to the gym to renew my membership and get a workout in. I need to take it slowly, which is going to kill me... my gut reaction on how to workout after taking an extended hiatus is always to kick my own ass as hard as I can. This is not an acceptable option when you've just had a baby a month ago. My core muscles have some of that natural separation and I need to be really careful using those muscles in all my movement while exercising, otherwise that separation could get worse and completely derail my workouts for months to come. 

I'll be starting with 20-30 minutes of low-intensity cardio and light weights. I need to resign myself now to the fact that this is probably all I should attempt until mid-to-late February. That's going to take some serious mental effort!