Taking A Walk and Thinking About Weight Loss
By michelle | February 24, 2010
It was only 24 degrees when we bundled up this morning
to take a nice, long walk.
This is the second walk we have taken this week,
and I hope to take more in the future… even tomorrow!
All this walking is going to help my progress with weight loss. Bunky is now six months old and I only have about two pounds left to lose of all the wonderful weight I gained during my pregnancy with him. However, as great as that may sound, you must take into consideration that I still have about 40 pounds left to lose from my other two pregnancies. Yikes! 
With Punky, I gained a whopping SIXTY pounds. Of that, I lost a little bit less than 40. I got pregnant with Spunky almost ON Punky’s first birthday, so I wasn’t able to lose any more than that. I was incredibly sick at the beginning (first 20 weeks) of my pregnancy with Spunky, and I still managed to gain about fifty pounds– 90% of which was gained in the second half of the pregnancy. Then with Bunky, I was determined not to gain as much. And I didn’t. But I did gain about forty pounds (still not in a healthy weight gain range- although, I tried to eat healthier in this pregnancy and still managed to gain a lot of weight).
So all that to say: I am almost at my pre-pregnancy weight before Bunky, but I have a long way to go before I can get back to my pre-pregnancy weight with Punky.
I love walking, and now that we live in a neighborhood conducive to walking, I think I will be walking a lot more than I did when we lived in the country. The hardest part is getting out the door. With three kids four and under, it takes at least 10 minutes to get everyone in coats, hats, and gloves, and then I have to get them into the stroller and Bunky into my Mei Tai (if you follow that link, you can see how you can even design your own baby carrier). I am looking forward to spring and summer when it will not be so much work to go for a walk.
Now the other part of the issue to eating. I love to eat. Fortunately, I do love healthy food, but I have a serious problem with portion control. I was hoping Lent would get me back on track, but I need to put in a little bit more effort. My biggest flaw is laziness when it comes to preparing food for myself, specifically breakfast and lunch.
And the whole idea that nursing will make you lose weight does NOT apply to me. I have nursed all of my babies for a year (or more) and still did not lose all the weight. And have you seen Bunky?! He’s a super-fattie 
He nurses constantly and is exclusively breastfed. I guess that my body just likes to do its own thing… Oh, and I drink water like a maniac, too.
We would love to have more children, but I would like to lose some more weight before that happens. However, we haven’t “planned” any of our children, so who know what God has in store for us. I’m excited to see… but I hope I’ll weigh a little bit less when that happens.
7 Comments
Michelle Mowat on February 24, 2010 at 12:55 pm.
Yes, it is hard in the winter…and I was just challenged by a friend at the church to put the kids in the stroller and just go on nice days…but winter is definitely hard…and since I have left IWU I haven’t exercised at all, mostly because the motivation is gone (we used to get $150 per person per quarter for Stephen and I). I know that I need to get better about keeping in shape, but I struggle with the same thing – just being lazy about actually getting out the door. I have been thinking of keeping a system similar to IWU (3 weeks of skips per quarter, exercising 3 separate days per week) with some sort of “reward” at each quarter…but I just haven’t done it yet – see, that laziness coming out again.
Anyway, all that to say, maybe some sort of reward system would work for you too (both on the food and the exercise)
And I need to take my own advice as well
Christine on February 24, 2010 at 1:08 pm.
I think you are doing GREAT ! Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s a feat what you’ve accomplished already! Just like you, I am a bit behind after having my second baby…but still more behind from my first! Pre-pregnancy weight started to seem “attainable” and then we found out I am pregnant again! So there goes the idea of weight loss.
I will say this…it is VERY hard to keep portions under control and control the snacking when we stay at home! Even “healthy” foods have calories (unfortunately). But I find that if I write my “menu” for the day before it starts…including my meals and snacks – it seems easier to stick to. I cross off each thing as I eat it. If I eat something (cheat) NOT on the list, I add it on there so that is accounted for. Maybe that sort of thing will help you too.
Again, be gentle with yourself…you look beautiful, your children and healthy and beautiful, and motherhood is not easy!
Mimi on February 24, 2010 at 3:57 pm.
Unfortunately, I have discovered that it is a life-long struggle. I’m sure you can hear my sigh from there.
And, I’m so glad you are exercising and eating well! Whoooot.
Martha on February 24, 2010 at 4:28 pm.
I agree with you…I love to eat. I also enjoy being outside and walking, though. It’s been hard this winter…with all the snow and cold! I wonder if our metabolisms just change the older we get, though.
Bethanie on February 24, 2010 at 10:18 pm.
I have not had children, so it is different but my advice would be drink water until you can’t drink anymore and keep a food journal. If you write down everything you eat and look up the calories to write down each time you will lose weight quickly. It is all about making eating a very conscious effort. Easier said than done but trust me it works! When I had a bad accident and couldn’t exercise at all I lost 7 lbs, because to compensate I used the journal religiously. Do you maybe have a mom who you could swap workout time with? She watches your monkeys while you exercise then vice versa?
Annie Luidhardt on February 25, 2010 at 10:12 am.
You are doing a great job and you look beautful!! It will come…you can do it!
Renee on March 3, 2010 at 3:48 pm.
I have struggled with weight too, and my problem has been especially portion control. Excercise is essential, but finding a way to control the portions has been the key too. So my tips on that is to always eat the same breakfast or have a set of three to rotate that you know what the perfect portions are and you won’t be too hungry later. Make your lunch the night before in the perfect portion and put it in a container in the fridge. That way when it comes to lunch and you are hungry and rushing you won’t just shove food in your mouth. Lastly dinner is always my down fall. Only make enough food to eat right then, no leftovers. I will make a perfect deck of cards portions of protien for each adult and only enough for one serving for the kids and so forth. Overtime it will become easier to choose the right portions and you will have lost weight…nuts and apples make good snacks. Oh and the previously mentioned food journal also helps keep you honest. On a side note, with nursing I have always found it really difficult to lose weight before they start solids because I felt I needed the calories to keep producing milk.