responses

Yolanda - I haven't met you yet either, but hello. :) I think it would be so fun to have a Wii Fit. So many options! I do workouts on Saturdays, but not Sundays. For one thing, I like taking one day off a week (for physical reasons as well as an emotional/mental break). I just try doing the same thing every day (workout first thing after feeding baby), and at this point in our life it works Mon-Sat.

Katie - I do weigh myself, once a week. I have gone back and forth on this through my life, and in the present season, it seems to help me. When the numbers go up it can stress me out, but when this happens I am usually expecting it because I know how I've been eating (I tend to enjoy being active, so for me weight gain is always more about how I am eating). When I do see the number go up, I try to let it motivate me to dig into why I'm gaining (for me, almost always it's emotional stuff I'm not dealing with), and then focus on dealing with that and the weight usually falls back into place as a result. At the same time, I am consciously NOT trying to lose weight right now. A goal like that is one of those things that can really motivate me (like a marathon or triathlon), but I've found every time in the past that I do great at reaching the goal, but then have trouble staying healthy / maintaining my weight AFTER the event or goal is reached (after the marathon, or after I've lost the weight, etc, I swing into the opposite extreme of gaining weight back and having a generally unhealthy daily life).

So for the time being, I am trying to just focus on being healthy and keeping my weight where it is, which is a healthy, happy weight for me. Of course, part of me wants to weigh less! - and I could still weigh less and be healthy for my height - but I'm not actually overweight where I am so I'm trying to just stay here for now and practice loving my body for what it gives me and allows me to do. Some of my motivation in this is that my mom thinks Naomi is built just like me (and I agree). Yikes! Talk about motivation for learning to model a healthy attitude toward my own body! I so want her to not deal with some of the insecurities and body image issues I've had as she grows up, and I know that starts with my own body image.

Kelly - so interesting that you too have had great results with a waist trimmer. As I'm wondering what I will do after the 30-day shred, part of me wants to switch to running, though one reason I'm not sure is that I would miss the upper body and ab strength I am getting from the shred. Maybe a waist trimmer would be a good help with this. Congratulations on fitting in pre-Lucy clothes!! That is exciting!

Hiking and Waist Trimmers

John Tiffin and his girlfriend stayed with us a couple nights and yesterday we all went hiking in Muir Woods. It was a good workout. Especially with carrying Mary Sue piggyback for a mile!

Will hopefully get around to Pilates today and workout my slightly stiff back...

I use a waist trimmer and it helped a ton for me, Yola! I blogged about it at one point. I had a muffin top for awhile that with all my running was not going away and the waist trimmer shrunk it considerably within just two weeks of using it. I still have a slight roundness in front, but it doesn't hang over my pants anymore, so I don't care! Anyhow, I found that a lot of my water retention is in my abdominal area and the waist trimmer helped me sweat that out. I also don't have PMS bloating anymore now since working out with it either, which is wonderful. I was fluctuating up and down 5 lbs a month before I started using that thing. The thigh trimmers I have not had the same success with. So I really think it's helpfulness has to do with where your body retains water.

Well, I excitedly found out this last week that I can now fit into 2 pairs of shorts, 2 dresses and 2 skirts from my pre-Lucy-pregnancy clothes. Granted they don't fit quite as loosely as they used to, but they zip up without sucking in my stomach and with no overhanging of fat. I thought that would never happen!! I gained 60 lbs with that pregnancy.