Today I slept in most of the morning.
Today Cormac and I took a nice long nap.
Today I gave myself permission to take it slow.
Today I took it easy in yoga class.
Today I ate cake for breakfast.
Today I got very little done.
Today I had a very exciting idea that I'm hoping to run with soon.
Today I enjoyed holding my baby.
Today I didn't make my bed (which isn't all that atypical to be honest).
Today I decided just to coast along. And today I think that is perfectly fine.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Amen
I grabbed this article from babycenter.com. All I can add is a loud resounding Amen.
Let’s stop obsessing about our post-pregnancy weight
I gotta admit, I’ve been trying to lose the same last 10 baby pounds for some time now. And my “baby” recently turned six years old! But I really don’t understand those women with three-week-old babies who complain about not being able to squeeze into their skinny jeans yet. Seriously!
Then there are horror stories of women crash-dieting before pregnancy so they start pregnancy at a lower weight. Yikes! What is up with us and our body image issues? And those celebrities! Hollywood would have you believe that you should be back to your pre-pregnancy weight before you are discharged from the hospital!
Don’t believe the hype!
My motto is simple: It took you nine months to gain the weight, you should allow yourself at least that long to lose the weight. The truth is, moms are under a lot of unnecessary pressure to lose baby weight and sometimes they sacrifice nutrition and healthy eating habits along the way. Not good.
In the black community, a little meat on the bones and a little “junk in the trunk” is definitely more acceptable. But black women run the risk of staying at unhealthy weight levels throughout their lives.
As far as I’m concerned, all of this pressure just shows how the pregnancy experience is so undervalued in our country. Our wider hips and fuller waistlines aren’t appreciated as a small byproduct of the amazing experience of being life into the world. Instead, they are viewed as unwelcome reminders of birthing that must be sweated and crunched away immediately.
The messaging is that pregnancy should not be anything more than a 40-week deviation from your normal self, if that. Push out your baby and get back to you!
But I can’t completely blame Hollywood. We often have our own control issues to deal with. As women we try to control every aspect of the pregnancy process, instead of surrendering to enjoying the experience. Get out your white flag and let it wave. As I often said during my pregnancies, “I’m just a passenger on this train.”
Now that doesn’t mean that I sat up at night eating Haagen Dazs ice cream by the tubful for the sake of surrendering to the experience. No, a healthy diet is very important. So are a few less healthy indulgences every now and then.
Let’s just remember that moderation is always a good thing.
We have to educate ourselves about healthy weight gain and loss, and give our babies the best start. That includes eating enough to support breastfeeding and having the right kind of food energy that’s needed to keep up with the demands of caring for an infant.
And let’s take back healthy and reasonable expectations as far as losing baby weight is concerned and leave Hollywood to make their movies. They do call it La-La land for a reason.
Photo:Flickr/Bandita
Then there are horror stories of women crash-dieting before pregnancy so they start pregnancy at a lower weight. Yikes! What is up with us and our body image issues? And those celebrities! Hollywood would have you believe that you should be back to your pre-pregnancy weight before you are discharged from the hospital!
Don’t believe the hype!
My motto is simple: It took you nine months to gain the weight, you should allow yourself at least that long to lose the weight. The truth is, moms are under a lot of unnecessary pressure to lose baby weight and sometimes they sacrifice nutrition and healthy eating habits along the way. Not good.
In the black community, a little meat on the bones and a little “junk in the trunk” is definitely more acceptable. But black women run the risk of staying at unhealthy weight levels throughout their lives.
As far as I’m concerned, all of this pressure just shows how the pregnancy experience is so undervalued in our country. Our wider hips and fuller waistlines aren’t appreciated as a small byproduct of the amazing experience of being life into the world. Instead, they are viewed as unwelcome reminders of birthing that must be sweated and crunched away immediately.
The messaging is that pregnancy should not be anything more than a 40-week deviation from your normal self, if that. Push out your baby and get back to you!
But I can’t completely blame Hollywood. We often have our own control issues to deal with. As women we try to control every aspect of the pregnancy process, instead of surrendering to enjoying the experience. Get out your white flag and let it wave. As I often said during my pregnancies, “I’m just a passenger on this train.”
Now that doesn’t mean that I sat up at night eating Haagen Dazs ice cream by the tubful for the sake of surrendering to the experience. No, a healthy diet is very important. So are a few less healthy indulgences every now and then.
Let’s just remember that moderation is always a good thing.
We have to educate ourselves about healthy weight gain and loss, and give our babies the best start. That includes eating enough to support breastfeeding and having the right kind of food energy that’s needed to keep up with the demands of caring for an infant.
And let’s take back healthy and reasonable expectations as far as losing baby weight is concerned and leave Hollywood to make their movies. They do call it La-La land for a reason.
Photo:Flickr/Bandita
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Taking the blame
A few days ago my little family took a walk. As my husband and I were walking I started telling him all the reasons I want to lose weight: so I won't be embarrassed to be seen in public anymore, to shut up rude comments from people, to prove that I can, to finally fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes, etc. But my ever wise husband replied to all this that none of it mattered. If I was going to do it, I need to do it for myself, and I need to do it for my health.
We've had this conversation before. Yet I always manage to find others to blame for everything. I'm only needing to lose weight right now because of pregnancy and nursing. I have an unhealthy body image because of my friends, family, and the media. It isn't my fault I have issues with my health. The doctors should be able to fix this. But all this excuse making has left me struggling with health and weight issues.
I have Fibromyalgia, sleep apnea, and insomnia. That's a mouthful. I personally think they are all related. I also think some of my weight issues stem back to these issues as well. Either way I have decided I do not want to live in bondage to these things. Before pregnancy I was on pills to help me cope with this. I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to rely on something like that. I want to be able to run after my son and know that it won't put me in bed for the next 3 days.
So, in an effort to take control I have realized that learning to take responsibility for my own health is the first step. I'm one of those people who like an audience I guess you could say. I also think best when I reason things out, out loud. Thus the blog. My husband and I are complete opposites in this way. He would rather not tell the world. I am hoping that by sharing my journey I can aid someone else in need as well as gain support to help me along the way. So, here goes.
We've had this conversation before. Yet I always manage to find others to blame for everything. I'm only needing to lose weight right now because of pregnancy and nursing. I have an unhealthy body image because of my friends, family, and the media. It isn't my fault I have issues with my health. The doctors should be able to fix this. But all this excuse making has left me struggling with health and weight issues.
I have Fibromyalgia, sleep apnea, and insomnia. That's a mouthful. I personally think they are all related. I also think some of my weight issues stem back to these issues as well. Either way I have decided I do not want to live in bondage to these things. Before pregnancy I was on pills to help me cope with this. I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to rely on something like that. I want to be able to run after my son and know that it won't put me in bed for the next 3 days.
So, in an effort to take control I have realized that learning to take responsibility for my own health is the first step. I'm one of those people who like an audience I guess you could say. I also think best when I reason things out, out loud. Thus the blog. My husband and I are complete opposites in this way. He would rather not tell the world. I am hoping that by sharing my journey I can aid someone else in need as well as gain support to help me along the way. So, here goes.
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