With all that being said, it comes as no surprise that I'm a tad "overweight" for my age and height. No really, I went recently for an OBGYN appointment, and of course, the first thing they want to do is weigh you. Well, it was approximately negative 30 degrees the day I went for my appointment, so I was layered up more than a whale has blubber. Picture it. Much like the kid in A Christmas Story walking down the sidewalk with nothing but eyeballs exposed.
I stepped on the scale, only to step back down while begrudgingly looking at the nurse, as I said "wait, should I shed some of my layers first, you think?" To which her reply was, "I mean, if you really want to...". Well, for no apparent reason {other than her tone}, I felt ridiculously stupid for saying that and stepped back on the scale FULLY LAYERED. She moved the little dial on the scale {you know the kind that's at every doctors office that you have to manually move back and forth}, and then she KEPT MOVING IT. Like, at one point it got to the end of the scale, so she had to add another weight. *INSERT MAJOR EYE ROLL HERE* She didn't even tell me my weight, but no need lady, I saw it because it was only a super drawn out freaking process.
If you're like my mom, you're saying "PUH-lease, you are NOT overweight, Chelsea." According to my blunt {but yet, utterly amazing} OBGYN, I am. I really mean it, she's amazing. She is also a midwife, and she delivered my gorgeous baby girl, so I kind of have a girl crush on her {even though she's old enough to be my mom}. Anyway, after she got done with the lady business portion of the appointment, she looked at the computer, then looked at me, then looked back at the computer and said "Wait a minute. This says you weigh _____, but that's how much you weighed the last time we weighed you pregnant at 40 weeks." To this, I really didn't know what to say. I knew she wasn't trying to be ugly, and sadly, I knew she was right. She may have been as legitimately as confused as I was. Except, truth be told, I wasn't that surprised. I, of course, blamed my birth control. HAHA. She very bluntly, but as nicely as could be said, "Whatever girl, just watch your portion size. Baby girl isn't taking those calories anymore, remember?". Yeah, yeah whatever {with a twist}!
I lost all of my baby weight within 1-2 weeks of having Emerson. Literally, t w o weeks, max. That's insane {and that's also what no sleep, nursing, and the onset of PPD will do to you}, I get that. I kept it off for a good while and then, nursing sessions started slowing down. Emerson started eating actual people food and mama started finishing what she didn't. Because let's be honest, who has time to PREPARE and then eat a nice, healthy meal when caring for a babe 'round the clock. Goldfish, cheerios, and mac-n-cheese became staples for me. When I stopped nursing, I never really cut back on my portion size for regular meals though, and I stopped being "as worried" about my nutrition because it was no longer affecting Emerson. That's when the weight started to sneak back on in various places. Okay fine, YES it went to my hips. And my belly. And my butt. And my face. But who's keeping track?
So what's changed between now and then? Honestly, I saw a picture of myself from a few months ago and I was flabbergasted, not because I was of whale-ish proportions or anything, but because I just didn't look like myself to me. My face was rounder, my hips were definitely wider, and my mid-section. Ha, well let's not even go there. It was time to face the facts. I wasn't taking care of me. Sure, I'd tried at-home workouts and even a nutrition plan, and it worked great for like 2-3 weeks, but then life "got in the way", or at least I made myself believe that it was getting in the way. There's no way that it was MY FAULT I couldn't keep up with it all. {sarcasm} I stopped making my nutrition and my health a priority, and as a result I was slipping farther and farther away from where I wanted to be both in terms of my health and my overall appearance.
Insert my lifeline here.
Shortly before Christmas this year, my husband came home from work telling me about how OneLife Fitness {where he works out} was now honoring the deal that he gets for being a firefighter {free membership as long as he goes 8x per month} for spouses of firemen. H O L D T H E P H O N E. We'd been discussing me joining the YMCA anyway, but compared to the $93 price tag they wanted for just Emerson + I, the free membership to OneLife plus a 20 minute drive was a no-brainer. AND, they have childcare, which they gave to us at $10 a month. Honestly, no where can beat that price right now. So, long story short, we went the next day and I joined and took a tour. I have been going ever since. It's been about a month now since I started and I LOVE going. Not only does it make me feel empowered, sexy, and strong, but it helps me sleep better, helps me eat better, a n d let's not forget, the 2 hours of childcare provided. H E L L O! That's 2 hours kid-free {love you E!} where I get to just be ME! I saw a shirt the other day that said "This is my happy hour #gym". I love that because it's true.
I love that it's something Trey + I can do together occasionally too. Don't let him lie. He apparently "snapped" or snap chatted, whatever it's called {I don't have snapchat}, a picture of me on the elliptical the other day that said "when bae goes to the gym with you". It was all in good fun and I had no idea he took it. What it didn't show though, was the 45+ minute workout I had done with weights and circuit training machines prior. I have used the elliptical TWICE in a month. Anyway, that's not really the point, the point was to tell you that I totally caught him staring at my butt as I was walking away from him after he'd helped me navigate some new equipment. SO, HA! Mama's still got some of it, at least as far as my backside is concerned. ;) Plus, as of today, I've lost 5 pounds and I feel great with so much more energy, so all in all, I'm very happy. I figure if I can continue to curb my eating habits {i.e. creamer overload, sugar + unnecessary carbs}, then I think by summertime, I'll be well on my way to a much healthier and fit me! Even this little bit of progress makes me anxious to see what the future holds. Also, shout out to my bae {ha!} for holding me accountable in a loving way; means a lot to me!
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| Post workout selfie. Finally, got to the gym today after being home with a sick little girl all week. |
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