Motivated by a Gain

Two weeks in a row I made it to meetings, which means I'm continuing to meet the goal I set for myself. I say that to remind myself of the goal, as it's so easy to get ahead of myself. Anyway, the big news is I gained weight. Of course I did, why wouldn't I? Not following the plan, eating a bunch of chocolate and what not. This is not behavior that leads to weight loss. Good thing that wasn't my goal :) But a gain makes an impression. The main thing is that I don't want to have more pounds to lose later. I don't mind maintaining but gaining is going backwards and I don't want to be going backwards. I gained 1.4 pounds.

What to do what to do. The talk this week focused on tracking, emphasizing that just by tracking alone we tend to do better in our eating. So I'm going to make an effort to track this week. The leader and I were talking about how I'm just back for meetings, not following the program yet, and she said, "Well, you're more likely to start following the program sooner than if you weren't coming." That's so true.

A gain is motivating. A gain says, "What are you doing Michelle?". A gain reminds me that more food + no exercise = more weight. And what does more weight translate into? More weight = less healthy. Less healthy is not good. So what did this weight gain motivate me to do?


Yep, I joined a gym! I did a little research and decided on the local YMCA. They have two facilities I can use, a small gym-only facility near my house and a large one with a pool, racquetball, basketball, rock wall, etc, etc about 10 minutes away. Both have childcare. For baby and I it's $84 bucks a month. Ouch. But I spend that much on Internet & Netflix so it only makes sense I could spend that much on my health.

After signing up I headed in to try out the old body on some cardio machines. I forgot my headphones :( I got on an elliptical and did 15 minutes. Ouch. Then I switched to the treadmill and did 15 minutes there @ 3.5mph. Ouch again. The body just ain't working like it used to. I burned 250 calories. My mind wandered around thinking about how much I used to be able to do, how fast I used to be able to go, how I could push myself hard and it felt good. STOP! You are where you are. You had a baby for crying out loud. This is the body that made your son and it is what it is.

One good thing about aging is that I care less and less what others think. My gym clothes were kind of tight, I was slow as molasses on the elliptical, and I was like a kid on the first day of school not knowing where to sign up for machines and all that. I didn't really care and that was nice. But one thing I did care about was the pain my boobs were in. Breastfeeding boobs are big and when they bounce it hurts! I need to wear a super tight sports bra so they are locked in tight.

After my gym excursion I'm not sure about signing up for the June 20th tri. Might just wait until the second or third one (they do three a year). I want to feel good and have fun, not push myself early and have a negative experience. The first one doesn't usually sell out so I can decide at the last minute if I want.

On the baby front, Marek is doing well. The big thing is he's starting to smile! It's SO friggin' cute. I need to try to get a picture of it. Sleep is elusive, poor Miguel got very little of it last night. I'm going to give him the night off tonight. Marek's gaining weight at a healthy pace, I'm still adjusting to my new life, trying to stay positive, and trying not to think about the return to work. How do people do this? One thing I have to prioritize is fitness. I imagine it's so easy to put that at the bottom of the list when you have a child but I'm telling myself it's the foundation for everything else I do. Without fitness, everything else is harder.

A Hot Weekend and a Shady Trail

A heatwave in the middle of April? Yep. It's damn hot! As I said in my last post we were planning a hike. I searched out a hike that was shady and flat. Both Miguel and I are sorely out of shape and we didn't want the baby to be in the sun so shady, flat and...gorgeous were the criteria. I wanted Marek's first hike to be a pretty one, even though he basically hitched a ride on his dad.

We headed out in the afternoon to the Sky Oaks Trailhead in Fairfax and arrived around 3pm. It was still plenty warm out but there was a nice breeze. We can't figure out which lake we walked around...was it Bon Tempe or Lagunitas? We either walked 2.5 miles or 3.5. About 2/3 of the way Marek decided he was hungry so we found a bench near the lake and parked it for a bit. Breastfeeding in the wild like that made me feel like a crunchy granola mom, which, truthfully, I am not.

Here we are! Miguel's carrying Marek in a Baby Bjorn Active and I've got the Camelbak.

This is the bench we were lucky enough to find. That's a happy post-meal Marek.

And even happier hanging out with his dad. Actually, he looks like he's about to throw a jab to his dad's chin!

What a fun afternoon. I think we'll be hitting up this trail again, it's just so perfect. Next time I'll wear my Garmin so we can figure out how far it is and maybe which lake?

Along the trail we ran into a dad pulling his son in a Burley trailer. We've talked about these but were scared the kid'd get hurt if we fell. We chatted with the dad and found out the trailer doesn't tip. These things are not cheap but we're thinking to save up for one. Miguel will definitely be doing the pulling! I'll ride caboose and keep an eye on the LO. Anyway, it'll be a bit before Marek has the muscle to sit up in one of these things so we have time to think it over.

Our next purchase is probably going to be a B.O.B. stroller. A little research is needed to figure out which one but did you know they have a B.O.B. Ironman?! I've heard the front tire being able to swivel is key and I don't know if this one does that or not. These things are not cheap either. How are we ever going to save for college?

On the food front I've been watching what goes into my mouth a tad more than last week. No major changes by any stretch but a few more veggies have worked there way into my meals. Not really tracking at all. it's going to be strange to get on the scale on Friday. I'll likely either be up or down and either will have an effect. I guess we'll see what happens!

And on the fitness front. I'm thinking of signing up for a Tri for Fun. This is the same one I did (twice) last summer. The first one is on June 20th (they do three every summer) and, call me crazy, but from my vantage point (on my couch!) it seems doable. I'd rather not do it alone so if you're up for it let me know! It's only a sprint distance, the swim is a scant 1/4 mile (about 7 minutes), the bike is relatively flat (only one tiny hill) and the run is on a trail (though not flat). Come on, you know you want to! I'm thinking a little tri action will get my ass off the couch and out for some exercise. I'm still a little sore in the abdomen but that shouldn't last much longer. Besides, I can cruise the tri if needed, it's a Tri for Fun after all.