Friday, June 09, 2006

Exercise

Odin (my husband) bought me a used treadmill, a pilates book, and a really, really, really nice exercise mat for mother's day.

So far, so good. I have been on the treadmill daily since it's arrival (except when traveling) and have set an additional goal to do two sessions a day 3-4 days a week. I know the manufacturer's instructions say to not hold children while using it, but for me I have found that holding children is the only way to have 20-30 minutes on it.

I am excited to share that Cordelia (2 years old) loves to be in the backpack or the sling while I walk. She tends to fall asleep while I walk either at naptime or bedtime. This makes putting her to bed sooooo much easier. Valen (4 1/2) months also seems very happy and content in the sling while I walk. I have now mastered Cordelia in the backpack and nursing Valen in the sling while I walk and read. It truly is a pick me up in my day!

I am also trying to get the hang of some of the pilates exercises. Some of them are really difficult, but I am gettign better the more I practice. The children will try and do them with me, or make jokes about me looking silly, so we try keep a good sense of humor around here. I am hoping to get better at nursing while doing these exercises as well.


Setting Goals and Tracking Results

I am a goal oriented person. I also want some way to monitor my progress. But this is not necessarily about weight loss. (ok - it is about weight loss, but not entirely!) So what do I use as goals and benchmarks?

This will definitely be a work in progress and my goals and benchmarks will change as I learn more. For now my goals are simple. Whatever I do, I have to be able to do it with my children, or with my children present. I will do some form of exercise each day and will adapt my eating habits little by little. For starters, I will try drinking my tea and coffee black instead of using cream and sugar. - Maybe that will entice me to drink more water as well.

In the beginning...


I must admit that I want it all. I want happy children, a happy husband, a clean house, and let's face it, I want to be fit, strong, healthy, and look good when I leave the house.

I am a 30 year old woman. Not too young, and definitely not old. I have been married for 10 years and have given birth to six beautiful children, one of which passed away. I look back at pictures of myself when I got married and can see the physical changes in myself. I was never skinny, but I was strong and healthy. So what happened. After my first three children, losing the weight wasn't a problem. After Amelia (#4) was born and then after she died, I never lost all the weight and really never got it all together. Then comes #5 and I'm still somewhat heavy and #6 was a difficult pregnancy and he is now 4 1/2 months old and I still have trouble sitting up from a laying down position.

So, how do I fix this? What is the "right" answer? There is way too much information out there on weight loss and fitness, yet none of it seems to work for me at this point in my life. I don't want to leave my children to go to a class or the gym, the baby is too little. If I start a video at home, one of the kids needs something and I never get to finish. I need and want to put their needs first. In the process, I need to find a method that will allow me to continue practicing attachment parenting while allowing me to make some progress. Being strong and fit are great, but let's face it, my vanity is showing and I don't want to be this big forever.

I have talked with friends as well as a personal trainer, and realize that I am probably not alone. So, I am going to do something about it, and I am going to document it. I am excited about the possibilities and look forward to the weeks and months ahead!