January 14, 2014

One Day At A Time

Last week something in me changed.  It's like I got slapped across the face and someone said, "get with it".

I was getting frustrated, upset, unmotivated, feeling down about my weight loss progress thus far.  Sure I'm better off than I was 5 months postpartum with Kendall {read about that, here} but I'm not where I thought I'd be at 5 months postpartum this time around.  By now I had thought I'd be in a certain pair of jeans. By now I thought I'd be pretty close to my pre-pregnancy weight. But then I'd turn around and tell myself, "Self, you just had a baby.  Give it time."

But this past week?  I got tired of the excuses. I got tired of the half-assed attempt at reaching my goal.  And last week I made a commitment to myself.  I thought maybe if I set smaller goals for myself I wouldn't be so overwhelmed with that big scary number.

I have these pair of jeans, they are not my "normal", "skinny" jeans but they are a pair that I wanted to fit in by now and the fact that I can't drives me batty.  I can pull them on and that's where the fun ends.  There is no buttoning, no zipping them.  So my goal for January is to fit in them by February 1st.  I know I can do it if I stay motivated and dedicated.

I'm sticking to my 1200 calorie goal like glue.  I'm not going to fudge it and have cheat days or even cheat meals.  Enough is enough.  I also realized how addicting, invigorating, motivating and all those other 'ing' words working out can be.

My hip has been bothering me for about a month.  I don't know if it's my body still getting used to all the changes from being pregnant or what but running/jumping/squatting only makes it worse.  Stretching though, that helps tremendously.  So I've gotten on a bit of a yoga kick and since doing it I only want to do it more.  I took all of your recommendations on at home yoga DVDs and I got Bethenny's Skinnygirl Yoga Workouts and I am in love.  I've tried quite a few yoga DVDs in my day and these two are my favorite so far.  The stretches are deep and really feel like a workout.  She has two different instructors with her in them and they do most of the talking/teaching with her little add-ins here and there.  I love them and this is what I am doing at home for now.

I also took a hot yoga class Saturday morning, for the first time.  I knew going into it I was going to love it, I just did.  I had read numerous reviews of the studio prior to going and all of them were out of this world.  I was hoping I'd hate it because it's kind of pricey but just as I assumed, I loved it.  Total body workout.  Hardest, sweatiest, best workout of my life.  I sweated and worked harder on Saturday than when I worked out with a trainer right before our wedding.  No joke.  I loved it and I plan to go back, even if just once a week.

I'm finally at a place of "let's do this" instead of expecting things to naturally happen on their own and it feels good.  I think each  month I'm going to reevaluate and make a new goal until I get where I want to be. I'm thinking about February's goal already and it has me excited.  I know I can do this and finally say #byebyebabyweight once and for all and hopefully be rocking a two-piece at the pool this summer.

How do you tackle your weight loss/fitness goals?  Do you set one big one and then focus, eye on the prize style or are you a mini goal setter taking it one day at a time?


14 comments:

  1. I love the idea of accomplishing small goals each month that will lead you to your ultimate overall goal...easier to stick to. Good luck, girl! I know you can do it!

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  2. This is awesome. That thing does just have to click, you know? I had a lull after Lucy, too. I mean, I started off great, then around the holidays I got lax. Then the new year, I was like FORGET THIS and got hardcore. That's when I finally just kicked that weight in the butt. There's no time for cheating when you have big goals like that, ya know? And I was really not doing myself any favors by fudging so much. "cheating", "having treats", etc is a little different once you get there, but when you're on that hard journey TO there, it just ended up bothering me more because IT WAS TAKING LONG! hah. I hope this makes sense. Anyway, this is awesome. People are looooving bikram yoga right now. You burn like 800-1000 calories because of the heat! I love that. We don't offer hot yoga at my Y yet, but the one we are affiliated with does--so I should totally work up the guts to go!

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  3. Do you have a good local library? When I was doing yoga for an injury I used my library for yoga DVD rentals because I get soooo bored! Great job on getting motivated! You got this! You can totally meet your goal!

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  4. I went and got the Jillian 30 day shred video and some 5lb free weights with a gift card from my boss. I know I'm going to have to mute Jillian eventually, but I also know that when I was doing this workout at work I was soooooo sore, but had so much energy. I miss yoga though. I need to get back to that!

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    1. In the settings you can turn off the instruction & keep the music.

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  5. I am reading all of these recommendations to gear up in a few weeks after I give birth. I am excited to get HEALTHY again and lose the baby weight. I lost the weight last time but never got healthy. Do you still follow the emeals? I have been thinking of signing up and seeing how it is? I'm also looking for time savers for a life with two under two and a husband and wife that work outside the home full-time.

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  6. I have a hip injury too, so I've had to lay off the running. I actually just pulled out my Jillian michaels yoga DVD and I love that. I am going to have to try the Bethany one too!

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  7. The best success I've ever had in losing weight was just last winter, just prior to getting pregnant with baby #4. I owe all my success to taking all the pressure off myself to do it in a certain time frame. Like the losing 1-2 lbs a week, every week kinda thing. It took me 3 months to lose 15 lbs by eating right and exercising. Sure I had good days and bad. But I wasn't disappointed in myself. This is life and I know my life isn't perfect. To think I could be perfect day in and day out with my eating and exercise was just setting myself up for failure time and time again.

    My best advice and what worked for me: enjoy what you do. Enjoy the work out and feel good about it. Enjoy trying new recipes and new foods. Make it your life.

    You're well on your way, mama! The hot yoga sounds interesting. I'll have to look into that. Maybe try Pilates too for your hip! Best workout I've found for me!

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  8. NEEDED this. cried last night over how large i am still. and how I've managed to gain some weight recently putting myself further from my pre pregnancy weight. we have a cruise in march and i hate hiding from the camera to take picture with C. needed needed needed. going to look for this yoga dvd! thanks lovely!
    and YOU CAN DO IT!! you are doin it!!!

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  9. I had my first child about 5 months ago too. I am at the same place you are in terms of my weight loss goals. I thought the 50 lbs I gained would have been LONG GONE by now. I'm stuck with an extra 10 that I had before baby. I want to be motivated and working on my fitness but I just can't get there :(

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  10. I had my 6 weeks postpartum checkup this morning and I am feeling this exact same way. I know I can't lose all of the weight in 6 short weeks, but I am lacking the motivation. The "want" is there, but the actual get up and do it lasts about 2 seconds and then I am in the kitchen snacking. If I get stressed or if my husband brings soda into the house, I am done in. I need to push myself, but I fail so miserably. I want that quick fix and can't get in my thick skull it takes time and hard work!!!!!

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  11. Oh I love hot yoga. I find it 10x better and feels more like a workout (with all that sweat!) than regular yoga.

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  12. I'm a long time reader and love your blog! I don't know if I've ever commented before, but I just wanted to encourage you on this journey! I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 6 month old and I've been having a hard time losing weight after my second baby. I would do really well for awhile, but then life got busy and I would get so off track again - I'm so bummed that I haven't made more progress by this point! This post was really encouraging and motivating and I saw on a more recent post that you've lost 10 pounds this month - congrats! That is so exciting! Keep up the awesome work! Just this week I've gotten back to a much better diet and am hoping that this is the time I actually stick to it. Your posts are so motivating to keep going - thank you!

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