Weight a Minute....
We visited the Johannsen family this past weekend and while we were at their house, we looked at an album of photos of Audrey's early days. In these photos, I look like I am still 6 months pregnant.
Right after Audrey's birth, I dropped 20 pounds right off the bat. She was 8 pounds 11 ounces and then you have to account for the weight of the placenta and all that extra water weight. However, I was so depressed that I still looked and felt pregnant. My stomach was still huge, my ankles and fingers were still swollen, and don't get me started on my ass and thighs.
I don't know what I expected.... I guess I imagined that all my extra weight was just from the baby. It *should* have been but it wasn't. After dropping those 20 pounds at the birth, I was still 20 pounds away from the weight I was when I got pregnant. Now postpartum, I see exactly where all that extra weight is hanging out. boo...hoo...
Jeff and I have been going for morning walks although not as consistently for me as I'd like. You see, it still all depends on Audrey. If I sleep in as long as she does, I can't join Jeff for a walk because she has to nurse and then I have to get dressed but Jeff has a tight timeline because he has to leave for work by a certain time. Those mornings make me a little sad when I can't join him. So instead of the walk, I make sure to hold/carry/pick up Audrey a lot during the day and I also do a series of weight lifts and lunges of sorts to tone my legs and arms.
The semi-good news is that I've lost 10 pounds in the 7 weeks postpartum. This isn't as much as I would have liked to have lost but also have to cut myself some slack. Because I'm breastfeeding, I need to up my calorie intake since Audrey sucks so much of it out of me. That means, as much as I'd LOVE to get back on Phase 1 of South Beach, I cannot diet right now. However, I can watch what I eat and make sure my extra calories are the good kind of calories - fruits, veggies, proteins, etc.
Lately though, my weakness has been STARBUCKS. Since I fasted from it for so long during my pregnancy and even some before getting pregnant, I've been craving it like no one's business! Plus, I LOVE the drive through Starbucks that are around town. At one point, Audrey would always feed right when I was hungry for lunch. So I got the ingenious idea to run my errands right after a morning feeding, when Audrey has dozed off, and end the errand running with a pass through the Starbucks drive through. I order a drink and a panini sandwich, which are delicious. I eat the sandwich on the way home so that when I get home, I have my hands free and tummy full so I can take care of Audrey's every need.
All that to say, those drinks and sandwiches may not be the healthiest of choices but they are healthier than, say, a Big Mac and they solve my timing issue.
So I've set some goals for myself. Right now, I can fit into a size 14 jean - the largest I've *ever* been. My stomach still flabs over a bit... My goal is to get down to a size 12 by November, then a size 10 by February, a size 8 by May (which is the size I was before I got pregnant), and then if I want to be REALLY ambitious, a size 6 (the smallest I've ever been) by August. We'll see how that goes...
Until then, an Audrey picture I LOVE:
Right after Audrey's birth, I dropped 20 pounds right off the bat. She was 8 pounds 11 ounces and then you have to account for the weight of the placenta and all that extra water weight. However, I was so depressed that I still looked and felt pregnant. My stomach was still huge, my ankles and fingers were still swollen, and don't get me started on my ass and thighs.
I don't know what I expected.... I guess I imagined that all my extra weight was just from the baby. It *should* have been but it wasn't. After dropping those 20 pounds at the birth, I was still 20 pounds away from the weight I was when I got pregnant. Now postpartum, I see exactly where all that extra weight is hanging out. boo...hoo...
Jeff and I have been going for morning walks although not as consistently for me as I'd like. You see, it still all depends on Audrey. If I sleep in as long as she does, I can't join Jeff for a walk because she has to nurse and then I have to get dressed but Jeff has a tight timeline because he has to leave for work by a certain time. Those mornings make me a little sad when I can't join him. So instead of the walk, I make sure to hold/carry/pick up Audrey a lot during the day and I also do a series of weight lifts and lunges of sorts to tone my legs and arms.
The semi-good news is that I've lost 10 pounds in the 7 weeks postpartum. This isn't as much as I would have liked to have lost but also have to cut myself some slack. Because I'm breastfeeding, I need to up my calorie intake since Audrey sucks so much of it out of me. That means, as much as I'd LOVE to get back on Phase 1 of South Beach, I cannot diet right now. However, I can watch what I eat and make sure my extra calories are the good kind of calories - fruits, veggies, proteins, etc.
Lately though, my weakness has been STARBUCKS. Since I fasted from it for so long during my pregnancy and even some before getting pregnant, I've been craving it like no one's business! Plus, I LOVE the drive through Starbucks that are around town. At one point, Audrey would always feed right when I was hungry for lunch. So I got the ingenious idea to run my errands right after a morning feeding, when Audrey has dozed off, and end the errand running with a pass through the Starbucks drive through. I order a drink and a panini sandwich, which are delicious. I eat the sandwich on the way home so that when I get home, I have my hands free and tummy full so I can take care of Audrey's every need.
All that to say, those drinks and sandwiches may not be the healthiest of choices but they are healthier than, say, a Big Mac and they solve my timing issue.
So I've set some goals for myself. Right now, I can fit into a size 14 jean - the largest I've *ever* been. My stomach still flabs over a bit... My goal is to get down to a size 12 by November, then a size 10 by February, a size 8 by May (which is the size I was before I got pregnant), and then if I want to be REALLY ambitious, a size 6 (the smallest I've ever been) by August. We'll see how that goes...
Until then, an Audrey picture I LOVE: