"Take your foot and step in it!"

That title makes me laugh. It's something I heard a motivational speaker say, intended to encourage women to take that first step to change... but... wow. Bad news. 

Anyways. 

Here's a little tidbit of information that I'm sure will come as a complete shock to you: Having a baby is hard on a woman's body. I know, your whole world has been rocked, hasn't it?

Sigh. Even though I handle pregnancy very well (I love being pregnant!), even though I've had no real trouble giving birth, this whole process has taken it's toll on my body. You see, with my first pregnancy I'm pretty sure I submitted to the "I can eat whatever I want because I'm pregnaaaant!" camp - at least until sugar started to make me feel sick. And then, when I was completely overwhelmed with how life was turned on it's head after the Cuteness was born, I could not be bothered with attempting to loose the 23 pounds that didn't disappear when I pushed a baby out. Then, badabing badabang! I was pregnant again! Losing weight was out of the question, so I determined that I would avoid sugar as much as possible. Instead of gaining the 40 pounds that I did with Judah, I gained a mere 17 (which put me at the same end-of-pregnancy weight as the first one). I counted it as a "fresh start" to getting healthy. 

But...

Surprise! It still takes work to get healthy! Instead of sitting and bemoaning my gelatinous state, I took one very small step to getting healthy: I purchased a work-out DVD. Before you laugh at the images of side-leg lifts and step aerobics that "work-out DVD" conjurs in your mind,  let me specify what kind of DVD this is. Jillian Michaels (one of the fitness trainers from "The Biggest Loser") has a 20-minute, 30-day workout plan that is designed to produce fast results because of the intensity of the workout. I have long since discovered that any exercise I do needs to be time-effective and to-the-point. It also needs to be easy on my knees/ankles, which are very weak and prone to spraining. This DVD was $12 on Amazon, and with a mere 20 minute time commitment every day, I was certain I could afford both. 

I have only been able to complete the workout a handful of times (thanks to various ailments I am certain you do not want to hear about), but I am ALREADY seeing results. My endurance has increased, I can actually do push-ups now for the first time in my life, my squats are getting deeper and easier, and...(wait for it)... I have lost seven pounds! This is a kick-start into fitness if there ever was one.

Along with exercising regularly, I am attempting to implement some small (but effective) diet changes. Key word: attempting. I love food way too much (yes, it is nearing idolatry levels), but I'm also conscious of the fact that I am still breastfeeding and can't go all "rice patties for breaky/lunch/supper/SNACK!" all at once (wouldn't that be an awful diet!).

Here are some of my changes: 

Swap out grains for fruits/veggies/protiens when appropriate. I have found that eating a grapefruit and a couple hard-boiled eggs in the morning is a GREAT start to my day - much better than having jam-and-butter-laden toast (like I had this morning). Quinoa is also a great, healthy, and satisfying alternative to those empty carbs. This does not mean I never consume carbs (see above parentheses). 

Lay off the seconds. If I change nothing else, at least I can keep myself from a second helping of white rice and ginger beef (and let me tell you, that takes a lot of will power for me).

Forget about dessert. Yeah, that one's pretty obvious. But, seriously, after every meal I'm looking for the sweet thing to finish it off. If I really need something, I can have a yogurt cup, another grapefruit, or coffee (I don't know why coffee seems like a dessert to me, but it does). 

Come to think of it, I don't really know why I'm sharing this with all of you. Perhaps this will help to keep me accountable? I really don't know. I'm not planning on keeping you informed on how much I've lost or what I've eaten, etc. At the very least, if you are also a new mom who's a bit discouraged about the jiggles that exist where a jiggle never dared set foot before, then you can be encouraged that you are not alone, and that there are some easy options to start down the road to getting your body back (whatever that means).