The battle against the post baby belly rages on. Who is winning, you ask? ME!
Well, this week at least.
My little Reeserton is now 3.5 months old. At 14 weeks post-partum I am well into the time-frame to think about seriously taking off the flubber.
Youv’e heard it all before from other new mom’s I’m sure:
1. I want to be able to fit into all my pre-preggo jeans not just that one pair that was all ready a little big and that other pair that I can suck and squeeze my way into after 10 minutes of cajoling my fat.
2. Who doesn’t want to be physically & mentally healthy, live longer & have energy from working out? Despite my recent lack of good consistent sweat sessions, would you believe me if I told you I really do want to work out regularly?
3. I have to be honest, Dave & I are hoping to take a fun-in-the-sun vacay to celebrate our upcoming 10 year wedding anniversary. Taking a nice pic on the beach and feeling great about the work I put into my bod is, admittedly, very rewarding.
So, here’s the deal…
I hit my post-preggo weight of 163 at 7-8 weeks post-partum. Just before the blasted holidays I had actually got down to 161. However, after spending almost a week staying with my friend Jean who had jars & jars of delicious home-made cookies sitting on the counter, I actually gained 4 pounds that I have only lost now after working on it since Jan. 6.
My plan:
~I’m trying to make better choices foodwise. I’m intentionally eating 5-8 servings of fruits and veggies a day, more whole grains and thoughtfully considering snacks. I’m also only buying snacks Dave enjoys so there is no temptation to dig into a bag of say, beef jerky. My snacks are more hoity-toighty: crackers & cheese, a pomegranate, a weight watchers lemon bar, etc. I’m cutting out fast food, any drink with calories & no eating after 7pm.
~I’m also counting calories. This has been so fun to do on my new iphone using the Lose It app. I just punch in what I’m eating as the day goes on and it tells me how many calories I’m over or under. Let’s just say for the record, I’m rarely under. I started Jan. 6 and I’m learning where I keep getting eaten alive -pun intended- with going over my daily allotment. For example, do I really need 4 heaping tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter with an apple, as opposed to just two? (No, I don’t).
~I’m breastfeeding. Yep, you read that right. Breastfeeding mothers can burn a whopping 500 calories a day. Holla! 
Because I’m breastfeeding it’s not safe for me to dip under 2000 calories a day, or lose more than 2 pounds per week. (which I don’t think I’m going to need to worry about)! I’m eating somewhere between 2000-2200 calories a day, burning 500 nursing and trying, yes trying to burn an additional 300 a day in some sort of physical activity. Meaning, I’m able to lose weight by getting essentially 1,300 calories a day. According to my Lose It iphone app, if I can keep this up until late April I’ll get down to my goal weight of 134.
Whoa, 134?! Yeah, that was my response too. Here’s the method behind the madness…
I’m 5 feet & 6 inches. Around 164 pounds (a pound of over my pre-preggo & 6-week post-partum weight) I was technically overweight. “Obese,” is what my Dr. said, “on the lighter side,” of obesity he says. (Gee, thanks Doc). My ideal weight for my height, and age as a woman is between 118-156. My Doc tells me I could set a healthy goal somewhere right in between there. “138 pounds is typical” he says. This is me 20 pounds ago…
Back when I was trying to pick up modeling again...
See, I look normal, and not waifish, 20-30 pounds lighter than I am now. I remember having endless arguments with my students who almost always thought I was getting too thin, when I was at a normal and healthy weight. The funny thing about this picture is that it was the photographers dress & I had put in on backwards! 
Anyway, I choose 134 for a few reasons…
1) It’s around about what I weighed when Dave & I got married. Yep, I was 5 ft. 6 In. then too. That’s what 10 years of wedded bliss and two babies will get you: 30 pounds!
2) I was 136 a few years ago when I participated in a national body building competition (I know right?! So funny….) Difference is, I was 136 including 10 extra pounds of muscle weight. I promise you on my life, I looked completely normal. I looked like a strong, carved out 126 pound 23 year old. (I was 29) That was SA-WEET for the entire 2 months and 2 weeks I was able to maintain that body. That program is ridiculously complicated and gut-wrenchingly painful to maintain unless you are perfect. Yep, unless you have the will power of a bison, you will fail at the Body-for-Life program. (I would post my finishing entry picture but some of you seem to think it’s in better taste if I keep pictures of myself in a bikini off the internet. I wonder why? J/K, of course)
And finally 3) I figure going from 164 to 134 would feel GREAT — don’t you think? 30 is a nice round number, a reasonable goal for a mom of two to lose. Besides, wouldn’t it be awesome -if I am able to both lose it and maintain it- if I got pregnant again to not start the pregnancy off “on the lighter side” of obese?
So, today I decided to ramp up my efforts. I’m at the place where I’m starting to see my hard work pay off. I’m down to 160, I shoved myself into a different pair of jeans and I’m totally enjoying cooking all these creative recipe’s with fruits and veggies. But, sweating is what I lack.
I’ve been on a “diet” of major fru-fru work-outs; walking (slow), house work, grocery shopping, carrying around a tubba-tubba baby of 14 pounds, using 5 pound dumbells, etc. All those things are good and nice but lets all just face facts. I am not going to have the bod I want on that beach unless I start TARGETING. Ya’ll know what I’m talking about.
Sexy abs don’t just happen now do they? (Oh, that they would just grow on trees!) Neither do sexy thighs, or arms or anything. I told Dave today that I wanted him to “go on his anniversary vacation with the same girl he married 10 years ago”. He said, “that’s great, just don’t expect the same guy.” I said, “You know what, all I care about is that I get to the place where I weigh less than you!” For our entire blasted marriage I’ve always weighed more than him –arrghghgh, drives me crazy.
Today, I did TAE-BO for the 1st time in years. I have no gym membership, no desire to go outside into the 15 degree
"Focus, you gotta Focus!" -My hero, Billy Blanks
weather for a run and no treadmill. I love it when Billy Blanks gets all up in my face and says “You, Grace Biskie can do anything if you put your mind to it!” I wanted to be like, “Oh, Billy, you sweet talker!” Well, that is, if he were actually in front of me and not on t.v. And that tiny, insignificant detail that we don’t actually know one another.
It was awesome! It felt so good to sweat like a mug, stink like a mug, be thirsty like a mug, hurt like a mug and in general torture myself for a good solid 30 minutes. My reward was entering into my Lose It app – 423 calories burned.
Hurrah for fighting to get my body back. And thank God for breastfeeding right? I love it, I love it, I love it. (And not just for the calorie burning, uterus size reducing benefits).
For health, for goals, for peace of mind, for cute jeans, sexy thighs, and makin’ your hubby happy, if ya catch my drift, let’s all get healthy!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
you go girl!
Good luck! I’ve just started back at the gym, but I’m horrible about the sweet stuff! I did get inspired by your friends blog about striving for five though & started to incorporate a lot more fruits/veg in my day. That does seem to help! I love that you have the dress on backward! That’s hilarious. Although, I think I would have done it to. I mean, the bodice looks like it should be covering a chest and not a back!
I’m hoping to lose the 6 lbs I put on between pregnancies as my first goal. From there, maybe the 5 lbs I put on at Cedar Campus right before I found out I was pregnant with Emma. From there, the 5 lbs from the previous Cedar Campus visit. You get my drift. I think being on staff can be really unhealthy sometimes because we are always in student centers at NSO events eating junk at midnight. Like you, I hope to do much of this while I am nursing, with double burning power.
But, I do have to say, 160 for 5′6 is not obese. Any BMI calculator you use will say it’s “overweight” because it gives you a BMI of about 25.8. 18.5-24.9 is the healthy range. I don’t say that to dissuade you of your goal, but to say that I don’t see how that weight can be considered obsese, which is by definition a BMI of 30 or greater.
Oh, Grace, how I love you. And keep it up!
I joined Weight Watchers about six weeks ago, and I’m down about 8 pounds. Yes, I lose weight slowly. Always have, always will. My goal is to go from 130ish to 115. That puts me within 10 pounds of where I was ten years ago. Is it true that you are supposed to recalculate your ideal weight every ten years by adding ten more? I don’t think so, but I think 115 is reasonable. Probably still a bit much for a girl who’s only five feet tall, but I’ve never been anything close to a waif! The best part about this all is that I’m doing it without being obsessive! Love that! I do need to work on working out more, but sometimes that’s difficult. My body hurts by nature. Still, that’s no excuse.
Anyway, so proud of you, and you motivated me!
way to go G! I am inspired to tone it up! I’ve been happy that I’ve been able to maintain my goal weight (give or take 3 pounds) for the past year. Now I would love to be a little more defined! Maybe we can do some sort of a competition to stay motivated? I know you love a challenge
I can really tell actually how yoga is beginning to sculpt my arms- watch out Michelle Obama! On another note- how did you decide to stop eating after 7pm? My sister in law- the doctor unmasked the myth in her book “don’t swallow your gum” that eating at night makes you fat. however, when you’re tired you often have less will-power & people are more prone to eating junk at night because they’re tired. I am always hungry at around 8:00, so I make some popcorn- high fiber, low-fat, eat a few whole wheat crackers & cheese or have an apple with some p.b. This helps me not feel like I have to starve myself and keeps me from gorging out of frustration for the “rules” I’ve put in place for myself. Just an FYI- do what works for you though!
Wow. Very inspiring honesty.
Lisa,
It was my OBGYN who said at 164 I was obese, not 160. 160 is what I’ve only just gotten down to as of 6pm yesterday
Jess, the no eating after 7pm rule came from Oprah’s trainer, Bob Greene in his “Best Life Now” diet. I tried it for a time some time in the last year when I was in school –all those late night drives & one night class, all I was eating was JUNK, and very late with no shot of burning it off. Once I eliminated eating late I started losing. For now, its’ the same, I tend to snack on bad staff late, not apples. However, if I’m tempted, I’ll consider what your saying about popcorn. all that said, I just had my daily allotment of candy –35 jelly beans…. at 7:45pm at night
so, obviously, I’m not a real stickler about it. and sometimes we don’t even start dinner until 6:30-7:00, but overall I’m trying to reduce calories by watching my nightly intake.
Jill V.Z., have grace for yourself, you have specific issues that are extremely challenging to overcome, I’m proud of your efforts…. not to mention the fact that you are a full-time student! That in and of itself is a hard time of life to manage regular work-outs! I remember!
love it! LOVE your honesty! I too have the goal of losing 30 pounds! I also want to get down to my wedding weight! Here’s to us!!! Maybe we can workout sometime together?!?!