Reclaiming My Body...Eventually

A little bit of history...
Growing up I was pretty athletic and had a good body.  I wasn't thin...I was just right.  I remember being really self conscious though and thought that I was so much bigger than all the other girls.  What I would give to have that body back!

At some point after moving to California and beginning my teacher career, I began to pack on the pounds.  There wasn't one thing that changed that caused me to gain weight...it was a whole bunch put together.  I was working a lot of hours just to live paycheck to paycheck.  I was living off mac n' cheese and other cheap food.  I was depressed and homesick.  I quit running and most other exercise.  Huh, listing things all out like this it is no wonder I gained weight! 

By the time I met my husband I was about 40-50 pounds overweight.  We fell in love (obviously) and moved in together.  Over time I realized that most of the reasons I packed on the pounds in the first place were history and I decided it was time to shed that weight.  I lost all of it in about 9 months and kept it off for some time.  Then I left the classroom to be an instructional coach.  Between the lack of exercise I got because I had a "desk job" and the stress eating I did because my job situation stunk, I slowly began added 25 pounds back on.  

When we moved to Portland 3 years ago we had so much fun exploring the great restaurants and pubs that I joke that we ate are way through Portland.  Then I had a miscarriage, fell into a depression, and gained the last 20 pounds plus some that I had lost way back when.

When I got pregnant with Superman I was 210 pounds (yikes- I can't believe I am telling you all this!).  I gained about 15 pounds during the pregnancy and thankfully lost that weight almost immediately.  Despite the fact that everyone told me that breastfeeding helps you lose weight, I struggled to lose more weight postpartum.  In fact it took a LOT of effort to lose 13 pounds before getting pregnant with Mr. T.

Where am I now?
So I started this last pregnancy at 197 pounds.  I gained about 13 pounds by the end of the pregnancy.  Today, 12 days postpartum I weigh 192 pounds!  There was one morning where I weighed 190, but I think that was just a fluke. Besides, I have heard that your weigh can fluctuate for the first 6 weeks postpartum.  Anyone else know anything about this?  I can't remember from last time.

My Goal
I have a goal weight of about 155-160 even though that is on the high end of my "ideal weight range" for my height. At my lowest weight of 150 pounds I really felt like I was just too thin and don't have any desire to get back to there.

I would like to get to this weight in a year, but I don't think that is realistic because I don't consider my body to be mine yet.  As long as I am nursing, that takes the priority.  So I am giving myself 18 months.  This year I will focus on eating healthily and exercising and see where that gets me.  Then adjust and pick up the pace after I am done nursing.

Biggest Hurdle
As I have said, I am nursing and I am assuming that I will struggle to lose weight like I did after giving birth to Superman.  I am not willing to jeopardize my milk supply so finding the appropriate amount of calorie intake given my activity level is complicated.  I will be going back to Baby Bootcamp as soon as I can and may use the point system from Weight Watchers just to make sure that I am getting in enough calories (because I know points and it makes keeping track of calories a whole lot easier). 

So stay tuned.  I will update my progress as I go along.  It won't be a regular posting, but as I reach milestones (hopefully that is) or encounter struggles, I will be sure to post.  For now, if you have any tips on how to lose weight while maintaining your milk supply, please feel free to share! 

Clumsy

Who thought it was a good idea to make  pregnant women, despite being more "delicate", more clumsy?  I am already so clumsy when I am not pregnant!

Today? I fell at boot camp!   We were side stepping around in a circle and my feet got all tangled.  Next thing I knew I was hurdling towards the ground.  Fortunately, my knee and hip hit and not my abdomen.  Unfortunately, I am in some pain.  Initially it was just my ego that was hurt, but over the last couple hours my lower abdomen has been a crampy (not contractions).

I think I am okay.  I found the heart beat with my doppler and I don't have any bleeding.  But since I am all sore, I gave the doctor a call.   Not surprisingly, they want to be cautious, so I will head to the doctor's later today. I am also to stay off my feet for the next 24 hours.  Thankfully my husband can work from home so that he can help me with Superman and so I can go to the appointment without having to get a sitter or drag S along. 

Not surprisingly, I fell when I was pregnant with Superman.  Although that time wasn't my fault, I was guest teaching in classroom and went to sit on a broken stool....only I didn't know it was broken.  Fun times!

At any rate, I went into the doctor that time as well.  They check things out, made sure everything was good, and everyone felt better about the situation.  So I am glad that I am going in this time around too. 
I will update this post later today/tonight with how I am doing.

UPDATE: 

All is well!  Of course, we knew it would be, but it was nice to be sure.  We listened to the baby and she checked my cervix.  She said based on the pain I had, it was mostly muscular and I needed to rest.  She asked if lying down made me feel better and I sheepishly admitted that although I had been resting and sitting down, I had not really been laying down. So she told me to go home, lay down, and take it easy this weekend.  I thought it would be easy since my husband is home, but it is hard to just lay here. I am using the time to research double strollers and mini-vans. :) 

Hope you have a great evening!