Losing it...the post baby diaries...Sept 6

"Ouch...welcome to the new you," I thought to myself this morning as I struggled through my workout. I gave birth to my son 6 weeks ago and today is the first day of my post-baby weight loss life. My wrists are sore, I feel like like my body is broken and I will never, ever have abs again. All of this awakening comes courtesy of the woman staring at me, gorgeous and strong, from my television screen: Tracy Anderson. 

I purchased the Tracy Anderson Post-Pregnancy Workout DVD online and just got it this weekend. Tracy Anderson is the ubertrainer to the long, lean and gorgeous set that I am hoping to rejoin (well, long and lean anyways...). She whipped Gwyneth Paltrow back into shape post-baby and Tracy herself gained 60lbs with her own son and look at her now. Seriously...look at her! She is proof that a mother in her 30s can look amazing and I found her totally inspiring. Tracy has created a unique workout program which she calls her "method". What I love is that the exercises are unlike anything you have ever seen before and they are tough. Super tough. My first experience with the "method" was a 10 minute leg workout webisode I purchased that literally kicked my ass. I was hooked.

Now that I am six weeks past giving birth, I have the all clear from my midwives to start working out seriously. I am devoting myself to the "method": she recommends doing the DVD 4-6 times a weeks so I am going to go ahead and make the full 6 day commitment. The workout contains a full 25 minutes of ab work, which I am considering more of a goal than anything :) A few crunches here...pause...stare at TV...try the next exercise...collapse in heap...wait for the next exercise. I bought her Dance Cardio DVD too but after going cross-eyed trying to figure it out, I decided to just focus on mastering one DVD at a time. Tracy also has a new book out this month...which I have in my Amazon shop here or on the side bar.

Image from www.amazon.com 

Am I ready for this? I think so...I am physically a bit weak but recovered. I was lucky enough to have a very positive birth experience and healed quickly (which I attribute to my lovely Hypnomammas class). I actually got into the gym, very gingerly, at 2 weeks postpartum. I did 15 minutes of no-impact cardio and some basic leg and arm exercises just to wake things up a bit. But now....it is time to get going again. The biggest challenge will be mental. I have a hard time really pushing myself when it comes to exercise and giving it the ol' "110%" instead of my typical 65% will take some willpower.

Given that I already have a blog, I thought I might share this experience with all of you. There are a couple of reasons for this: first, it will keep me honest. Nothing like making your goals and commitments public to keep you accountable. Second, because I am a dietitian. I counsel people on healthy eating and (sometimes) weight loss for a living. And being slim, no one believes that I know how hard it is to lose weight (Believe me, I do). So I am also doing this to earn a little "street cred" :) 

Even though I gave birth a full month early, I had already gained 36 pounds...the dietitian in me "knows" that a healthy pregnancy weight gain is 25-35 pounds. (This photo is me only a couple weeks before birth.) But the pregnant lady in me was hungry...really hungry. Since the weight loss was slow and steady, I assumed that my body needed the weight...so I didn't fight it. Six weeks postpartum, birth and breast feeding has helped me lose 18 pounds. Since my weight had crept up a bit before I got pregnant, my weight loss goal is another 23 pounds. So you are all my witness...I will eat and workout my way to a 23 pound weight loss and I am hoping to do so in about 6 months (which is a safe ~1lb a week weight loss). 

I will talk about food next time... until then I will be nursing my aching muscles.

Desiree