Workin On My Fitness

So you know what’s really really boring? Listening to people talk about their diets and workout plans and weight loss goals and OMG this new dance-yoga-spinning-butter-churning class they just signed up for at the gym. So I apologize in advance for this post.

I have never ever been good at dieting. That’s not to say I’ve never been SUCCESSFUL at dieting, I’m just not very good at it. My strategy has always been more exercise, not less dessert, which worked well for me when I was 20, after this I even tried some appetite suppressants from West Word which help me a lot with this. It’s not hard to find time for yet another class at the gym when your biggest problem in life is finding an after-hours bar because a 2 am last call is, like, SOOOOOO lame.

Then, BAM, I got married and spent all my time sitting on a couch instead of at those 7 am Saturday Pilate’s classes. And then, BAM, we moved away from the land of bathing suits and tank tops to Connecticut, where big, baggy sweatshirts are acceptable attire 7 months of the year. And then, BAM, I had a baby and everything that used to point up pointed down and things that used to go in go out and everywhere from my toes to my earlobes streeeetched and now I am without hope.

I could say I’ve been trying to get back in shape for a while now, but that would be mostly false. Sure I joined Stroller Strides and have shown up for class three days a week almost every week since October but trying is too strong of a word for my participation. I’ve doing more strolling than striding. But with Baby Evan’s first birthday on the horizon and my pre-pregnancy jeans still totally unbuttonable it is time to buckle down and DO THIS. And since writing about it on the internet is the best way to make sure as many people as possible hold me accountable, here’s THE PLAN:

1. Attend Stroller Strides at least 5 days a week (and not half-ass my way through the hour).

2. Drink a lot more water and a lot less soda – even the diet kind.

3. Stop buying candy since I am totally incapable of eating a reasonable amount as a treat instead of an entire bag as dinner.

4. Eat breakfast every day.

5. Weigh myself on Saturdays to keep my goals on track.

I know if I tried I could make THE PLAN much more ambitious. If it comes down to it I can put myself on the totally no fun no days off no will to live diet that would get results but also make me a cranky miserable bitch for a few weeks, although it would mean I can go back to just maintaining my weight sooner. It also might mean my husband and child never speak to me again. It’s a hard decision.

Stay tuned for fascinating and enthralling updates and possibly a photo that will scare you out of having children forever. As soon as I have an after (or a middle, or a one seventh of the way through, or a ANY IMPROVEMENT AT ALL) photo to share, I fully intend to post them both. And if you don’t delete me from your bookmarks after that threat, you have no one to blame but yourself. Also, I love you.

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13 Responses to “Workin On My Fitness”

  1. Meg says:

    Oh, hon, my whole blog is about my weight loss these days! It is consuming my life. I’m finding ways to eat healthy and avoid the unhealthy stuff, and I’m working out every day. My trainer has me running, which is really rude of him.

  2. bebehblog says:

    No way am I running. We occasionally do sprinting relay races at SS and after just two trips down the hall I’m EXHAUSTED. My instructor mentioned the words “5k” and “this spring” which I am totally on board with if I can walk but won’t get within 5 miles of if running is involved.

  3. Raincheckmom says:

    I find that eating one egg and 2 slices of bacon for breakfast keeps me from feeling hungry MUCH longer than eating cereal – even Cheerios! I like to do that on work days so I’m not famished before lunch rolls around.

  4. Audrey says:

    I feel your pain. I can’t say that anything on my body ever pointed up, though. I’ve restricted my diet many many times with short term or no success. The real problem I’m having these days is not getting off my butt. Other than to chase my son around the house or up the stairs, anyway. That’s why I decided to register for a 10k in May, paying $20 to register for an event and making it public that I’m participating forces me to get out of the house and exercise. Even if I only registered as a walker. I too need to cut back on the diet sodas and increase the water. Good luck on the candy, I’m kinda thankful that isn’t something that’s ever had power over me. Rice pudding, however… *grin* And I’m totally weighing myself every Wednesday, and I don’t know if you’re planning to do it but I have total respect for those brave people that post that to the internet because there is NO WAY you’d ever catch me putting my weight up for the world to see, cache and archive.

  5. SarahMC says:

    “Stop buying candy since I am totally incapable of eating a reasonable amount as a treat instead of an entire bag as dinner.”

    Yeeeaaah, that is my problem too. I have a serious sweet tooth, and feel incomplete if I don’t have something sweet after my meals. So I’ll buy a bag, or box, of X treat with the intention of having ONE after dinner, but instead I eat lots and lots and lots and then they’re gone.

  6. Meg says:

    SarahMC–I have found that a cup of hot chocolate satisfies my sweets cravings after dinner. In fact, I’m finishing one off right this very minute! 80 calories for 2 tablespoons of mix, and I add a little bit of milk after mixing the hot water in to make it creamy.

  7. Other Erin says:

    Good luck, especially on the soda. Giving up diet soda is in my top 3 list of hardest things I’ve ever done.

    Also a really good (free) website for tracking food, exercise and progress is fitday.com. I used it religiously for about a year and it really helps you to know when you’ve gone too far to either extreme.

  8. Merin says:

    There is also that Lose It app-a friend of mine swears by it. You can combine some of your favorite activities (using your iPhone and metrics) with a not so fun activity (tracking calories). I think you can set goals and stuff too. As a disclaimer, I could never do this-it seems so tedious and annoying. I have no interest in knowing how many I consume. It would be shocking.

    On another note, my husband and I are also trying to lock it up so to speak. We are doing weekly weigh-ins and measurements (talk about depressing!). I too am from the camp that I would rather exercise more than eat less, but at 36 and with the babe, it just isn’t happening. I am really hungry.

    Good luck Suzanne!

  9. I am also determined to start being serious about fitness. We bought an elliptical yesterday and I am determined not to let it turn into something in our bedroom I hang my clothes on. I’ve given up on ever fitting in my pre-pregnancy jeans again or at least my Miss 60 skinny jeans, the Levi’s fit at least, sort of.

    The worst part for me is that right after the baby I started feeling really good about my weight but somewhere around month 4 I lost that feel good feeling and just got laaaazy. This may or may not have to do with the weather changing and going back to work and no more daily walks in the park.

  10. SarahMC says:

    That’s a good idea, Meg. I do love hot chocolate (and cold chocolate, and soft chocolate, and hard chocolate…).

  11. bebehblog says:

    Merin, I swear I downloaded that app like 30 seconds before you posted your comment. I’ve been playing with it all day but I think that White Chocolate Molten Cake I ate after dinner broke it. Or maybe it just broke my will. I do like that it has the nutrition info for all the restaurant food, so now I know the salad I was going to order for dinner had 1200 CALORIES. (Also, I had no idea you were 36. I would have guessed 30. So you look great!)

    Meg, I know having a hot chocolate SHOULD satisfy my sweet craving but it’s just not the same as eating a whole bag of candy. I think the satisfaction I get for eating ALL of something is just as important to me psychologically as eating something sweet.

    Holly, UGH THE WEATHER. I’m so lucky my stroller class goes inside during the winter or I would do nothing aerobic all day. I’m hoping once it starts to warm up I can supplement my morning workouts with afternoon trips to the playground and burn just enough calories to make a dent.

  12. Merin says:

    Thanks Suzanne! I appreciate that because most mornings I feel about ten years older. Be glad you had Evan at your young age!

    Molten chocolate cake sounds so good right now. Matt made raspberry sorbet in our new ice cream maker. It is delicious, but strangely eating it makes me crave chocolate, which I think defeats the purpose of the sorbet.

  13. Britni says:

    So, uh… I think you’re perfect?

    But this?: It’s not hard to find time for yet another class at the gym when your biggest problem in life is finding an after-hours bar because a 2 am last call is, like, SOOOOOO lame.

    I laughed. That’s still me.

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