Results: An Update

Remember this post ?!

It was the start of my commitment to shed those extra baby pounds and get in shape.  Well, that was almost a year ago.

Someone may be wondering what's happened since then.  Mostly, because I rarely post pictures of anyone other than my adorable children on this blog.  So unless you've see me in person, its probably been a big mystery.

I'm happy to report that thanks to being smarter about what I ate, and a regular amount of pushing a double stroller around our neighbourhood this summer, I was able to reach my goal weight (and then thanks to the flu this Christmas ... a couple of extra pounds).  Not only was I able to wear something other than my maternity sweaters this summer, but I was also able to fit into a dress for my cousin's wedding in August.

And the icing on the cake ...

After being reunited with my wedding dress (my mom had been storing it all these years across the country), being married just shy of 10 years, and 2 kids later ... I was curious to know...  I decided to be brave during the kids' quiet time and just go for it.  Imagine my delight ... IT FITS!

(Now if you're a guy ... you may want to skip this part.  You've been warned.)

Now without a tummy tuck (won't happen), I will probably never wear a 2 piece bathing suit, or anything clingy again.  Nor will my belly button probably ever return to its original shape, size or position.  But, I'm extremely proud of reaching my goal.  My next one ...?  Now that I'm sure there are some abs down there, to firm them up a bit.  I'll check in again in a year and let you know if I've had another success.  Oh goodness ... I think I'll have to patch up my relationship with Jillian :-P

Feel The Burn

Jillian Michaels move over ... have I got a work out that will make you sweat.

All you need is:

2 children ages 1 and 3 years old
1 double stroller
Your own 2 legs

Put children in stroller and push around your hilly neighbourhood, for 45 minutes to an hour, in humid weather that feels of 35 degrees Celsius.  Feel the burn in every inch of your body ... if you can under all that sweat!

F.Y.I.:  If your lacking the child component of this workout.  Mine are available any time upon request.  No deposit required.  Hey ... I'll even provide the stroller!

Fighting The Flab

So for the second time, I'm trying to loose my post baby belly.

Just to remind you of what I'm working with here's a picture of me preggo with Kendall literally the day before she was born.

That's right ... my belly was somehow defying gravity. I carried both kids like this. ALL out front. There wasn't a maternity shirt out there that could cover that thing! From popular opinion 50 percent were convinced that my ultrasounds were wrong, and that I was carrying twins. Of course unless you saw me from the back ... then I didn't look pregnant at all.

You'd think a pregnant lady who was all baby without an inch of extra flab anywhere else would have it easy afterwards right? Not so much. Yes, I was back into normal pants a week or two after delivery, but my stomach ... well let's just say it wasn't defying gravity anymore, and the maternity shirts weren't covering it for another reason.

So here I am almost 10 months later and still wearing my maternity shirts. Until last week my pre-maternity clothes were still packed in the boxes from the move (now they're just in storage bins in my closet). Summer is coming! The time of year where I can no longer hide under a jacket or baggy sweatshirt in public. It's time to get serious!

I pulled out the Abs of Steel DVD again but the pounds just aren't dropping and the bulge is definitely not deflating. So on a family outing to Best Buy the other night I bought a Jillian Michaels DVD. The 6 Week 6 Pack. Now I'm being realistic. I by no means expect a 6 pack in 6 weeks. Nor do I expect that I will be able to find the time to work out the 5 days a week that this DVD expects for the results in this time. I was just looking for something that was going to target my problem area. All this preamble to say, that I've now done 2 days and BOY DO I HURT!

Here I am, in my basement doing burpees. I don't think I can remember doing a burpee since they probably forced me to in grade 9 Phys. Ed. After becoming reacquainted with this exercise move, I am truly convinced that burpees are a cruel form of torture and punishment. Since we don't have a very clear picture of Hell, I'm going to guess that there may be a small portion of it that includes doing burpees for eternity. These things seriously make me wheeze, pant and combined with some of the other moves on the video, make it almost impossible to move from the waist down. Ironically the only part of my body that probably doesn't hurt is my abs. I'm taking a guess that its because I was already working these muscles (even if they weren't abs of steel yet).

This post is about telling you all that I AM going to do this. I'm sticking with it. I'm giving Jillian and her burpee torture a chance. I've got to ... T-shirt weather is coming and I only own winter maternity clothes!