Two years passed and I got pregnant with Serena. I gained even more weight with her pregnancy than I did with Calli's and was very serious about getting it off. We joined a gym soon after I got the go ahead to start working out again. I went about it probably not in the best way: eating very little and working out 3-4 times a week. Five months post partum I was down to my pre-Serena weight, but alas, I somehow got pregnant again! All that hard work out the window!
Now, after having three kids and knowing that there were no more in the foreseeable future, I WAS DETERMINED to get that weight off once and for all. We still belonged to the Y and when I was able to work out again, I went four times a week. I built myself up to burning 500-700 calories on the cardio equipment every time I went. I am proud to say that it took just three months to get back into my pre-Serena/Jameson pants and to that weight. But as you know, I had those ten pesky pounds to get rid of still. They say that those ones are truly the hardest and it did take the longest. If I had gotten into running sooner then it might not have taken so long. By the time I did get into running in the beginning of November I had just five more pounds to lose. But now I knew that five pounds was so attainable and why not go for ten? Better yet, fifteen or twenty? I was at a healthy weight for my height, but it was at the middle of that range and I knew it could be lower. I never had any aspirations of being underweight or anything like that. It's just a very powerful feeling to know that you are in control of something and I finally felt in control of my weight. That last five pounds came off quickly after I started running, followed by almost ten more. If you are keeping track, that is twenty pounds under my pre-Serena/Jameson weight and ten pounds under my pre-Calli weight.
I know I'm bragging, but it's really hard not to pat myself on the back. I have worked damn hard to get back to where I am. It wasn't always easy and there are lots of days that I would rather just veg out on the couch instead of go for a run. But when I finish those five miles and realize it only took me fifty minutes to burn nearly 600 calories, I feel good about myself. And after that I know I can sit on the couch with my feet up eating a few girl scout cookies and not feel guilty. I don't diet. I eat sweets every day. I actually even eat MORE now than I used to. I've learned that in order to lose weight your body does need more calories than you think.
I am very proud of our active lifestyle. Above all, I feel happy that Richard and I are setting such good examples of health for our kids. They will see us exercising and it will be completely normal to them and they will know that's how it should be. Calli already has been playing soccer and doing dance for years now so she is very active for her age I think. Serena doesn't have long before she'll be doing all these things as well.
We were watching a new show on ABC the other night, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. He is taking on the most obese city in the nation and fighting to change the food in the schools and in families. Seeing what school lunches look like nowadays makes me kind of sick. Of course, they weren't much better back when I went, but my parents packed the majority of my lunches to bring to school, which I'll be doing for my own kids. The really disturbing thing was seeing what people eat in their homes. There was one family who deep fried every meal they ate. Really? The thought just sounds gross. I never thought of myself as a healthy cook and never thought that the meals that I make are really that healthy, but my opinion has changed. I serve a vegetable of some kind with EVERY meal I make. I use whole wheat pastas and breads when I can and lots of lean meats. My kids eat fruit every day with their lunch. Calli is starting to get to the point where she wants sweets every day (thanks to kids in her preschool who have dessert after lunch!) but I am trying to be lenient with that and realize that I'm balancing it with healthy foods so sweets in moderation is okay.
If we all made small changes to our diet and lifestyle we could have a big effect on the state of this country. 32% of US children are overweight. THIRTY TWO PERCENT. In five years, it's predicted that SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT of Americans will be overweight. Wow. I know how hard it is to make changes. To get in there and get motivated and begin a workout program or healthier eating styles. But once you do it, it gets easier and easier and you feel so proud of yourself. And it becomes just part of your routine and part of your life. This is how it has been for me and I hope to be able to continue this in the years to come. I am glad to have found running as an outlet. Not only will it keep me in great shape, but it's time that I get for myself away from the kids and responsibilities. It's something I can take pride in and it's fairly cheap. I don't need a gym membership to hit the pavement; I can find running trails and paths anywhere. I can simply run around on my neighborhood sidewalks, which I do often.
So all that being said, here is what eight months of hard work looks like! I don't know that I will be getting into a bikini anytime soon, but I don't think I look too shabby for a mom of three!
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