Pre-pregnancy jeans?

I did a very scary thing today.  In the midst of packing up my closet (big move is now only 4 days away – EEK!), I ran across a pile of jeans tucked away in the back corner.  They were tucked away for two excellent reasons: 1) because it is FRICKING HOT and there is no need for long jeans, long sleeves, or anything that covers anything more than legally necessary in this heat, and 2) because I haven’t worn those darn things since last October.  Maybe November, if I was having a skinny day, or was using the belly band.

At first, I just went to shove the jeans in the plastic garbage bag with the rest of the contents of the back of my closet (and expert packer I am not), but then a little voice in the back of my head said “just try them on Janelle.”  I knew this was a bag idea – it is probably close to 90 degrees in that room, I was all sweaty and feeling bloated from the gallons of water I have been drinking to keep hydrated, and have I mentioned that we’re moving? And thus the diet has been a bit less than stellar – leaning more towards beer and potato chips for dinner, rather than fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains.  (Ok, really it hasn’t been that bad.  I’ve actually done pretty well considering, but Sunday night dinner was beer and potato chips.  And fresh fruit.  Which was on top of a pavlova, doused in whipped cream.  But there was fresh fruit!)

Anyhow, back to that voice in my head. ”Try them on Janelle.  Just give it a go!  Who knows, they may just fit!”  The next voice I heard was that of my friend Kristina, describing her experience with her pre-pregnancy jeans after her first child.  I distinctly remember Kris telling me that if I ever had the inkling to put on those jeans prior to 9 months postpartum, I should put them down and call her immediately, and she would coach me back from the ledge.  “Janellle, PUT DOWN THE JEANS.  JUST WALK AWAY.  THEY WILL MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A HEIFER.  THEY WERE MADE FOR 13 YEAR OLD GIRLS, WHO DON’T HAVE BIRTHING HIPS.  I REPEAT, WALK AWAY!”  And indeed, the jeans did look tiny, like they should fit a trim person.  Not a bloated, sweaty, mom.  But still…they had fit me once, and I am technically only a few pounds away from my pre-preggo weight (but distinctly flabbier – little time to workout = little muscle tone = lighter weight, but more girth.  sigh.)I again went to put the jeans away, but the little voice had gotten louder. ”Just give it a try! C’mon, why not!  If nothing else, they will MOTIVATE you..”

Well, you all already know what I did – of course I tried them on.  Who wouldn’t have?

And…they fit.  Kinda.  Meaning, they zipped and buttoned without having to suck it in.  They were certainly form-fitting, which is NOT how I prefer my clothes, and caused a bit of a less-than-attractive muffin top.  But I see much worse at the mall on any given day, and hey, I’m only three months out!

So…not such a bad experience. They way this heat wave is going, I won’t be wearing those puppies any time soon.  So the goal now is for my next go-round with those jeans to result in less muffin top, a bit more give in the thighs and bum…and perhaps a bit less internal conflict.  After all, they are just jeans, right?

Exercise Epiphany

I did not fare nearly as well this week in keeping my daily dates with Jillian – and honestly, I was setting myself up to fail by thinking that I could.  It was an extremely busy week, and thinking that I could fit in a workout every day was just silly.  I managed 3 sessions of the shred and several shorter walks, and that was about it.  And probably, I should view that as a success, all things considered.

I had an “exercise epiphany” on Saturday.  Saturday was the last of the crazy days – I had to work in the morning, rush around shopping in the afternoon getting father’s day gifts, and then work again in the evening.  I was completely stressing out as to how I would fit in my workout.  And then – it hit me – exercise should be something that reduces stress, not increases it.  I work out because it makes me feel good – both mentally and physically, and keeps me healthy.  But if fitting in exercise is increasing my stress levels instead of alleviating them, then I should probably take a rain check on the workout.  We have so many irons in the fire around here right now – it is the busy time for work, we’re finalizing the details on buying a house, planning to move, figuring out how to rent our house, and raising two boys under two.  If I skip a workout here and there, it certainly isn’t the end of the world, and I really need to keep that in perspective.  Mental health is just as important as physical health, and I shouldn’t sacrifice one for the other!

So…all that said, I still lost a bit of weight this week, and am fitting into more of my clothes, some of them even comfortably!  I’m getting close to rocking most of my cute summer skirts (and am thinking I should just pack away the cute little T-shirts for this year – because really, the ribcage probably isn’t going to be shrinking up all that fast, and with nursing I will continue to be more well endowed than normal at least through the summer.)

Goals for the next week – PERSPECTIVE!  Oh, yeah, and I’ll eat more veggies.  It was a PB & J and protein bar kind of week – time for more fresh food.  I just made two massive salads – a pasta/veggie salad and my corn, edamame, and carrot ginger salad, to help make it easier.

A week with Jillian

Well, I did it.  Last week, I managed to keep (almost) every single date with jillian and her 30 day shred!  I only missed two days – one of those, I went for a three-mile walk that took a bit longer than expected and I didn’t have time to shred.  On the other missed day, I tried, oh so hard to complete the workout…but Austin kept changing the channel and turning off the TV and the DVD player and dropping weights on my toe…and then Wes would wake up and fuss and need to be bounced back to sleep, and just as I would get him down Austin would decide that Wes was missing his binkey and try to shove it back into the mouth of the sleeping babe, just to wake him back up…I managed to get through the first six-minute circuit, but it took 40 minutes.  40!  At which point both kids were crying and I decided to give up and have a beer.

(Incidentally, watching Austin imitate Jillian and I was an ab workout on its own – I was laughing so darn hard!  I’ll try to get it on video)

I’m down three pounds from last week.  Woohoo!  I’m sure most of it is due to nursing, since I ate everything in sight, and, 20 minutes of exercise a day really isn’t much…but I’ll take it.   More important, more of my closet fits!

I have a crazy busy week at work coming up, and adding anything to the plate for the week will be setting myself up for failure.  So…same goals for next week.  Drink more water, continue to shred. I move on to level two tomorrow, wish me luck…

Back on the Wagon

So…I’ve been cleared to “resume normal activities” after my C-section.  Which I’m trying hard to view as a blessing…but it now also means that I have no excuse to skip the daily workout, and must find a way to squeeze that back into my day.  Exercise is really important to me – not only does it keep me in shape, but it improves my mood and just generally makes me feel like a rock star.  Of course, I’m motivated to get back into my pre-baby clothes – which are about 10 lbs away.

The Dr. advised I start slowly, and work my way back up – so of course I jumped in with Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred.  This is not a workout for the faint at heart, but it does only take 20 minutes, and I’ve done it before with much success.  20 minutes a day I can manage – many of my other workout DVD’s are closer to an hour, and I don’t want to set myself up to fail when I’m balancing a toddler, new baby, moving house, and my job.

Today will be my third daily visit with Jillian.  The goal? To do the video every day for 30 days, spending 10 days on each level (the video has three levels that get progressively harder).  I will also try, 4 days a week, to get a bit more low-impact exercise, such as a walk or bike ride.  I went for a ride with my dad last night and it was fantastic – I haven’t moved that fast under my own power for ages!  Of course, the combo of Jillian and the bike ride means that I’m incredibly sore today – I had such a hard time getting down the stairs this morning!  Hurts so good…

Since I’m nursing, I’m not going to worry much about cutting calories.  But I am going to try and concentrate on drinking more water – I find myself really thirsty in the afternoon, and probably need to be more proactive, rather than reactive, about my thirst.

So, two goals for the next while: 1) 20 minutes with Jillian every day, and 2) drink more water.

I’m also going to try and do a bit better this week in the meal planning department, so that we don’t end up eating cheese sandwiches and cereal for dinner every night.  Last night, I set out to replicate a salad I sampled the other day from our local natural food store – and it was wonderful!

Edamame, Corn, and Carrot Ginger Salad

1 1/2 cups shelled edamame

1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen, but fresh would have been stellar!)

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

1/2 red onion (option – in the salad I had at the shop, but I skipped it because raw onions are gross)

2 T mayo

2 T cilantro, chopped

1 1/2 t grated fresh ginger

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mix the edamame, corn, carrot, and onion if using.  In a small bowl, mix ginger, cilantro, and mayo.  Combine with the veggies and enjoy!

I added a bit more ginger – I like the bite – but it is best to error on the side of caution with ginger, you can always add more.

Even a fussy Austin ate a fair bit of this.  I’m glad it worked out because this made a good sized portion, meaning there are leftovers for my lunch today.  And…it is very colorful and thus fun to eat!

(picture coming soon, I finally found my camera)