Twinning at MotherHood

Category Archives: Weight loss

Every body is a beach body

Posted on by Posted in Eating, Motherhood, Twin Pregnancy, Weight loss .

Remember how I was going to document my diet and exercise program to try and get in shape for the beach? Well, that didn’t work out.

The first few weeks I wasn’t motivated. Then I was super motivated and was doing great! I was running every day, consistently meeting my step goal, eating well and going to yoga. I felt really good. And then I got bronchitis coupled with a sinus infection and double ear infection. Oof. I could barely walk, much less exercise. 6 weeks and 2 rounds of antibiotics (and several thousand oz of water through the Neti pot) and I’m still not feeling right. 

But you know what? Once I got to the beach it didn’t matter. I built sand castles. I held my boys in the waves. I swam in the pool. I dug for mole crabs. I even carried those two fat toddlers across the cactus patch AT THE SAME TIME! My body was strong. My body was capable. My body was perfect.

It jiggles in some places that used to be solid. It’s not shaped the same way that it was before I had kids. It’s different than it used to be. But I’m different than I used to be. My priorities are different. My expectations of myself, and my body, are different. And now I’m going to make my mindset different.

I’m going to try to keep running because it made me feel good (not during – after). I’m going to keep going to yoga whenever I can despite my diastasis recti, because it centers me. I’m going to keep eating well because I want to be healthy and set a good example for my children. And I’m going to keep in mind the gentle admonishment from my old friend Nancy – every body is beach body when it’s on the beach. 

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On motherhood, activism and science communication

Posted on by Posted in Motherhood, Weight loss .

Hello friends!

I’m honored to have been featured in the 500 Women Scientists #MeetAScientist series and since part of what I talk about is this blog I thought it might be of interest to you. Here’s the link.

Geology field work in the Himalayas

Quick update on fitness goals – I’ve definitely been amping up the exercise and I’m feeling pretty good! I don’t look any different yet but my physical and emotional state (and my stress level) have definitely improved and that’s the name of the game. If that’s all I end up getting out of this exercise and fitness thing then I’m going to call it a win! Also, my daughter went jogging with me the other night and said she’d like to start running with me.

Feeling more fit – check

Having more energy – check

Lowering stress levels – check

Being a good role model – check

Bonding time with my kid – check

Winning at fitness – check

 

So things aren’t going so well…

Posted on by Posted in Motherhood, Weight loss .

My exercise and weight loss goals have been severely derailed. Who’s surprised? Raise your hand. I know, I know. No one.

I actually did ok for the first week – I jogged for 5 days out of 7 and my weekly step average was 9,892 steps/day. My goal was 10,000 steps a day but a long day of meetings coupled with some rain messed me up. And I did pretty well eating healthy – I ate the same things as my family but I decreased my overall portion size, eliminated all the starchy carbs like mac-n-cheese and mashed potatoes, and increased my servings of vegetables. I also upped my water intake.

Week 2 is when it got ugly. I went out to visit my friends with newborn twins, and it was lovely. The beer and margaritas and pizza and ice cream were also lovely. And there was no way I was I was going to go leave those beautiful babies to go run in the rain. Nope. And then I went to a conference for 5 days. Could someone please tell me how I thought I was going to eat well and avoid alcohol at a geology conference? Clearly, I didn’t think this through, and also I have zero willpower. Now, I did eat better than I could have and I got a lot of walking in, but I definitely came home feeling bloated and defeated. So now I have 7.5 weeks left to get this done. But I am not going to panic. Nope. I’m going to channel this energy into action.

I went jogging yesterday and I’m going again tomorrow. I’ve got a healthy breakfast and lunch ready for tomorrow and I’m going to drink water until I slosh. And I’m going to commit to posting another “progress” picture in 2 weeks to help motivate me to actually make some progress.

How is everyone else doing? Any progress to report?

Time to get in shape for summer – who’s with me?

Posted on by Posted in Eating, Motherhood, Twins, Weight loss .

I’m about to do a thing and it scares me. I’m about to post about fitness and nutrition and put pictures of myself in a bathing suit on the internet. I think I’ve lost my mind. I am not a fitness and nutrition person. I hate sports and jogging and the gym. I love pizza and salt and vinegar chips and wine and margaritas. So know that I realize that this is total madness.

But here’s the thing. I’m going to the beach for a week in the middle of June where I will (presumably) be wearing a bathing suit. Now, I’ve known that this was coming but did that stop me from eating pizza and drinking wine this weekend? No. Did it keep me from having delicious Thai food for lunch yesterday? No. No it did not. Now I’m not overweight (thank you genetics), but it’s been a long winter and the, um, “fluff” has accumulated. I feel bloated and out of sorts. And I’m out of shape – very out of shape. And it’s embarrassing to admit but I can’t fit into my favorite shorts and if I can’t fit in to my shorts then putting on my bathing suit is really going to make me cry.

The problem, though, is that I have 3 kids, a husband, a full-time job, a 4 hour daily commute, a consulting business on the side, 2 cats, a house that requires upkeep and yard maintenance, a leadership position in a women’s advocacy group and I occasionally like to sleep and bathe. When, exactly, am I going to exercise? Or cook a bunch of healthy food just for myself, because we all know that my family isn’t going to eat zoodles and salads. And it isn’t just me. We’re all busy. Super busy. How can we fit some amount of exercise and self-care into our already over-packed and scheduled lives?

That’s what I’m going to try and find out. I’m going to document my efforts to exercise, eat healthier and fit into my shorts. You are going to keep me honest and accountable. The objective here isn’t necessarily to lose weight (although I will *gulp* report my weight changes) – the point is to feel better and look better. And I have to do it in 10 weeks.

So, here we are at the “before”. God, I hate the before. The before is so humiliating.

  • Starting Weight – 130.2 lbs.
  • Starting Exercise –Walking; Fitbit step count average is 5,256 steps/day.
  • Diet – Does pizza with peppers and onions count as a diet?

Before Picture (shield your eyes from my blinding whiteness)

Plan

  • Weight and Health
    • To fit into my shorts – the number on the scale doesn’t matter
    • To build some muscle mass
    • To get healthier!
  • Exercise
    • Increase step count to 10,000 steps/day
    • Start doing the free Couch to 5K running app at least 2x a week
    • Sit on an exercise ball at work for at least 3 hours a day
    • Maybe take a yoga class once in while and see if that’s possible with my DR (see below)
  • Diet
    • Use the Fitbit app to watch my calorie intake
    • Try out new, healthier versions of what my family already eats (thank you Pinterest!)
    • Cut out all alcohol and fried foods except for one cheat day a week.
    • (**If I find any great healthy recipes I’ll share them here).

**Another thing I need to work on is my “completely open” diastasic recti (DR) – or separated stomach muscles. This is a pretty common condition after carrying a big baby (or multiples) and it affects core strength, pelvic floor function and overall strength. It also causes the “mom pooch”. My case is pretty bad – I can fit 3 fingers to the knuckle into the gap between my stomach muscles (thanks to carrying 15 lbs of babies and 6 lbs of placenta). The tough part for me is that most of the types of exercise that I enjoy, like yoga and pilates, need to be severally curtailed or avoided all together until you’ve either had the DR surgically repaired or you’ve strengthened your transverse abdominus sufficiently, which I haven’t done. So, I’m going to work on strengthening those muscles by doing these exercises at least 4 times a week. And I’m going to try to do some yoga but will avoid the problematic poses.

I’ll post weekly to give you an update and report on what’s working and what’s not working. Here we go y’all! (Anybody want to do this with me? PLEASE?)