A ( Baby ) Weight-y Issue

I think one thing all new mums struggle with is " Oh.My.God - how am i going to lose all this bloody baby weight?! ". I know, with Flynn, i was really laidback about it, i wasnt overly fussed about dropping all those excess kilos ( truth be told i didnt put on much weight really )... until i saw photos of myself when he was almost 1 year old.  I know they say that breastfeeding is supposed to make you shed all that baby weight you put on but its not entirely true - Flynn breastfeed sooooo much that i was hungry all the time, and i had actually put on more weight after his birth than i did when pregnant with him!

So this time around, i was careful with what i ate. I wasnt on a diet or anything, but i tried to moderate what i ate, instead of eating whole loaves of garlic bread for dinner. ( Yes. That really happened. My craving for garlic bread when pregnant with Flynn was so strong i would eat whole loaves for dinner. Or lunch. I must have been the worlds smelliest pregnant lady ). Anyhoo, so i tried to watch what i ate whilst pregnant and i'm trying to do the same now that Miss Tully has arrived and is breastfeeding like a champ. I am muchly proud to say that i have lost all the weight i had put on with her, and then some - however, though the numbers may be back to what they were, the body shape is not!

However, i digress - my point is, like anything to do with conceiving/being pregnant/new motherhood, its nice to have a bit of help. A few pointers on where to start. Which is what i discovered over at Karimums. I found a great little community, created by the same foundation who run Karitane clinics, which offers pregnancy and parenting advice for everybody - breastfeeding mums, formula feeding mums, mums of babies or toddlers, mums who had natural vaginal births and those who had caesars. Hell, i'm pretty sure, even though its called Kari-mums, they give advice to Kari-dads too! And what i found when exploring this great little online resource was a little infographic on pre-pregnancy nutrition. And who doesnt love an infographic, right?

[Source: Karimums. Real mums. Real expertise. Real support.]

Sure, its aimed at women trying to conceive but i think the principles are pretty sound for every woman, no matter what stage of the parenting game she's up to. I know that i've tried to take heed of its advice since i've read it and it seems to be working. Its keeping my body healthy and the community feel of the Karimum forums may just be keeping me sane and mentally healthy too!
( * Disclaimer - this post was prompted by an email from a media company. I have visited the aformentioned site/trialled aforementioned products. Any views/opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own )

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Time To Get Back Up On The Wagon

With only 12 days left til my wedding, i've succumbed to my own pressure and gone on another health kick. After having lost 10 kgs earlier this year ( in a pre-wedding blitz ) i know i've lost my way a bit. I'm not eating all the vegies that i know i should be, and i definately didnt drink enough water during the last few months ( although, to be fair, winter and the lack of hot, thirsty days will do that ). For the past 8 and a bit months i've managed to stay within a kilo or two of my goal weight ( the goal i reached after losing those 10 kilos ), and i'm still within that range. Its just that i've noticed the increase in sugar and carbs ( oh how i love thee toast! ) and i need to nip it in the bud.

Pic from here

So - i'm deciding to try and get back on a better health track. Like right now - right.this.very.second - amd fighting the urge to leave my desk, go into the supermarket and buy myself a packet of Maltesers. My body is screaming " Fill me with choc-malty goodness! " but my brain is trying to beat that impulse off with a stick. For one thing, i've only just finished my lunch* , and for another i know that about half an hr after i've eaten the Maltesers i'll be absolutely fanging for more. So i'm just gulping down the water instead, and pretending that chocolate just doesnt exist.

And this time, its not just going to be vanity motivating me either. This time i'm staying on track and maintaining a healthy weight for the good of the unborn baby i hope to be pregnant with shortly. Its no secret that we'd like to expand our family ( in fact, we're hoping to fall pregnant on our honeymoon ... ) and i know that eating a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy body weight before, during AND after the pregnancy will be best for me, future bub, and the rest of my little family...

* Ok, so clearly i didnt just write this - i wrote it at work and emailed it home to myself. Just another way i like to waste time at work....

Operation Slimdown - Or Is It?

So - guess what today is? If you guessed Operation Slimdown update day then you'd be right! Yes, today is my fortnightly update on my weight loss adventure ( if you can call it that) and, after last Tuesdays post, i wasn feeling too optimistic about weighing in and measuring myself up. Comfort eating, Pepsi-drinking and general sad-sacking do not usually make for a good loss. Lets see....


Bust: 91.5cm - down 3cm
Waist: 77.5cm - up 0.5cm
Hips: 100.5cm - up 1.5cm
Bum: 103cm - down 1.5cm
Thigh: 64cm - down 1.5cm
Weight:72.7kg - down 600g
So there you be - not a gain as i was expecting, but not quite the loss i'm aiming for. As i said, i would really love to lose AT LEAST a kilo a fortnight ( unfortunately last weekend was a bit of a lost cause ) but if i'm a few 100g here or there on a normal week well... I'm not going to beat myself up about it. If its the difference between one scoop of ice cream or two then hell....i'm treating myself to the icecream. Everything in moderation and seeing as i'm still on the " 2 cups of vegies and 2L of water a day " path ( mostly...sometimes its 1.75L.... ) i think i deserve two scoops of icecream every few days. And you know what? I had the willpower to shun icecream, and chocolate, and even birthday cake for 2 weeks when i kickstarted this thing off, and i know i could do it again. I also know i dont really HAVE to deprive myself either, so i dont. I think thats kind of a healthy attitude...

What is also healthy is that i've started throwing exercise back in the mix too this week. I'm starting myself off slowly - i'm not quite back to gum junkie status yet. I plan on doing half an hour of yoga 5 days a week, going for a 20 min walk during my lunch break from work 3 days a week, and then going for an extra 45 min walk 3 days a week aswell. Its definately not as hard as i used to train, and i'd love to get back into the running and the weight training at some point, but for now what i have planned should help shift the last 4.7kg til i hit my goal weight. And whats even better is that now my already gorgeous fiance Mick has gotten on the fitness kick too - he's been going for a 45 min - 1hr walk/jog 5 days a week - and we're really supporting and encouraging each other. I feel really motivated to keep up with him and get gorgeous and healthy together!

Operation Slimdown, Mach 2, Week 1

Well, well, well Amy - here we are again. Thats right people, i'm getting back to Operation Slimdown, and this time i'm ramping it up a little. Lets face it, ramping it up a lot - it never really got off the ground the first time and was more wishful thinking than anything but this time i'm jumping back on the "get fit, be healthy " bandwagon and i'm not getting off for nobody! Unless that somebody is cheesecake. Or icecream. As a treat. In moderation. But i digress....

Thats me, the fat girl ( taken yesterday ). My bubble butt only just fits in that swing....

I need to lose weight. I felt like i had plumped up a little but because i dont own a set of scales, i couldnt be sure of by how much. To be honest, i didnt particularly WANT to know - that little set of numbers can be very scary! However, after seeing the few photos we took on our Sydney trip last week i've been scared into looking at all those numbers and doing something abou them. I mean, i'm not obese or anything ( although according to my BMI i am... ) but those photos showed a me that i didnt recognise as "me". I'd seen that girl before, and she wasnt happy....and i dont want to be that girl again.

I know i can do this because i've done it before. Oh yea, i've been a gym junkie: not so long ago i went to the gym 6 days a week and maintained a size 10 figure. Then i met my beloved and spent less time at the gym, and more with him. And a few kilos crept on because i wasnt exercising as much and, besides, he didnt mind if i had a little junk in my trunk so i took a few liberties with the chocolate, and the ice cream, and the yummy, yummy burgers.... and then, i fell pregnant. I didnt put on much during my pregnancy, only 9 kilos, but somehow i have managed to not only NOT lose any of that but put on a handful more kilos aswell. Not happy.

So, inspired by those "fat girl " photos and by the lovely Holly over at Good Golly Miss Holly! ( who is also on a get fit plan ), i've decided the time has come to actually get my bum into gear and get serious about losing some pudge. I've taken my measurements and am going to post them for you all to see ( unlike Holly though I am not brave enough to take bikini pictures and share my cellulite with you. No. Thankyou. ). The numbers are:
Bust: 99cm
Waist : 84.5cm
Hips: 103cm
Bum: 108cm
Thigh: 67cm
Weight: 77.8kgs
*EDIT - i kind of forgot to add my goal weight here! I'd like to be down to 70kgs by Flynns 1st birthday on Dec 27th. Thats 3 months to lose 7.8kgs. 10kgs would be nice ( then i'd be back to my pre-pregnancy weight ) but i'll be happy to see 70kgs....

So thats that. I'm not going on actual "diet", i'm not counting calories and i'm not employing some fancy dietitan or personal trainer. I'm just going to eat smaller portions, have more fruit and more water and increase the exercise from one hour a week to at least half an hour a day. Wish me luck, and tune in next week for an update!