Sugar free

Today is the last day of my sugar free month! 30 days ago Matilda got a terrible rash on her face. As it was the Easter weekend, I thought it was a result of the ridiculous amount of chocolate I was eating. So I put the challenge out to myself and Trent to go the whole of April without sugar. The rules were:

1. No food with sugar eg. Biscuits, chocolate, soft drink, milo, etc
2. No take away eg. KFC, McDonalds, etc (Thai and Indian were still allowed)
3. Fruit sugar was allowed
4. No alcohol

I have managed to survive the month but it hasn't been easy. One of my challenges was cutting out all the snacks during the day. Mainly biscuits. I am not a big lunch eater, mostly because bread just doesn't really do it for me - never has.  I have quickly learnt that eating a decent lunch cuts out the need for all the little snacks (which more often than not, are bad foods). I can do fresh bread rolls so that has been my solution. I have also eaten a lot more nuts - almonds, walnuts. As well as lots of fruit, which I was eating a lot of towards the end of my pregnancy.

The biggest challenge I had, and am still struggling with now, is the after dinner sweet thing. I used to have a cold milk milo every night and that just finished me off for the day. I am yet to find anything to give me that same satisfaction at night, and I am going to have to be very careful not to get back into the habit of having one every night. But I am certainly going to indulge tomorrow night!!!

Perhaps the best thing to have come out of the sugar free month, is the realisation about how much sugary food Poppy eats. I have always thought she ate reasonably well. We have always been very aware of not allowing too many lollies and chocolate, juice is a no-no and she has never been interested in soft drink. But now I can see that it's all the morning and afternoon tea foods that were sneaking in - biscuits, muffins, cupcakes. It's amazing that as a result of me not eating those things, she also hasn't been having them. Partly because its too hard for me to watch her eat it and not have any myself! But also because she is not seeing me eating it and therefore isn't asking for it herself. Instead she's seeing me eat fruit, so that is what she is having too. Unfortunately, she still isn't interested in nuts!

So my obvious next challenge is to try and keep it up. I'm not going to be as strict with the totally no sugar, but it has definitely shown me that that there are much better choices out there and the sweet, naughty stuff can be saved and enjoyed on special occasions!

And for the record, the rash on Matilda's face wasn't from the chocolate, it was just a hormone rash! Could almost say the sugar free month was for nothing...........but I won't!

No excuses - oops!

So after my 'No excuses' blog last week, it seems there is one excuse that is legit - sick children! Poppy has had a runny nose for a few days now and when she woke up coughing this morning, I knew it was going to be a quiet day at home. Cancel swimming lesson and cancel gym. Instead, my day has consisted of Dora the Explorer and playing in the sandpit. I can tell you which I would prefer! Hopefully she'll be feeling better tomorrow and I can get back on the treadmill.

Tips for post-natal running

I did my run! 4km and I'm feeling it now! As predicted, it was all fine. A lot harder than running on the treadmill but I managed to run the whole way - slowly.

Since starting back running, there are a few things that are different. It seems that each run I do presents me with a new challenge or problem that I need to solve. Here is my list and top tips (so far):

1. Wobbly bum = tight pants, as tight as you can get!
2. Big, bouncy boobs = tight top, as tight as you can get!
3. Timing of run needs to be considered. Always try to run after feeding to prevent making problem 2 even worse.
4. Always go to the toilet just before running - even if you've only just gone.
5. Getting some new kit will make you feel so much better!

Road Runner

I'm a little bit nervous because this afternoon I am going for my first proper run on the road. It is a bit strange but it feels like I'm leaving the safety net of the treadmill. All of a sudden, thoughts of doubt are creeping into my head - it's going to be too hot, I won't be able to run properly, I won't be able to run for as long. I know that it's all a load of rubbish but its making me nervous all the same. It's one of my biggest flaws - a complete fear of the unknown. After 3 steps I know I'll be fine, it's just the time leading up to those first 3 steps that get to me.

I should be taking comfort in my last running effort which was at the gym on Sunday. I managed to run for 31minutes non-stop! 4.5 km! This was a real surprise to me but got me very excited that just maybe, I'm not as far back as I thought I was. Hence the entry into my comeback race! What surprised me was a) how long I could run for, and b) that it didn't hurt all that much. It reinforced to me that its all about pace. If I run at a pace that is comfortable, it should be quite easy. The challenge for me this afternoon will be running at a comfortable pace without having the treadmill to help!

Sunday run stats:
5km - 36mins 45 = 7.21min/km

No excuses!

I don't have time to exercise.
I wish running was my thing.
You never get your body back after having kids.

These are all things people have said to me that, to be honest, make me laugh. To me, they are weak excuses for laziness and motivate me to get fit and healthy just to prove them wrong. If you really want something, you make it happen. Unfortunately for most people, been fit and healthy just isn't all that important.

My morning consisted of taking Trent to the train station so he could get to an early meeting, take poppy to her swimming lesson and go to the gym. Doesn't sound like much until you think about the logistics:

Take Trent to the train with all 3 girls still in pjs
Get Poppy organised with clothes and breakfast
Dress and breast feed Matilda
Dress myself and have breakfast
Pack bag for swimming
Pack my bag for gym - including sports bra to change into because I need to feed Matilda before I go to the gym
Pack girls bag for gym - morning tea, nappies, spare clothes
Throw in a tantrum by Poppy because I'm making her rush
All before 8.00 because we need to get in the car to be at swimming by 8.30!

I'm adding in an extra effort of getting from the car into the swimming pool with 3 bags, 1 pram and 2 children

Swimming
Dry and dress Poppy and give her morning tea
Breast feed Matilda
Put both children in the crèche
Get changed into my sports bra - remember I can't feed in a sports bra
Do 1 hr gym session - weights and core
Pick up girls
Get home
Put Matilda in bed
Make Poppy lunch
Put on a load of nappies

11.30 collapse on the couch.

If you really want something, you make it happen!

As a side note, I entered my first race today - Jetty to Jetty 10km on 21st July. Can't wait!

The before shots - hopefully!

Trent told me today that as I am writing a blog about getting back into shape post baby, I needed to put some photos on my blog. Whilst I wasn't too keen on the idea initially, I think it will be good to have some photos to reflect on in the future. I have managed to gather a few photos. I'm not really a fan of the 'selfie' so I've had to make do with photos I happened to have.

Whilst it's not the best quality photo, this is me running the Canberra marathon in April 2012 (6 weeks before getting pregnant). This is the body I'm hoping to get back! Slim all over and some great muscle definition in my legs.

This is me on my due date (17 February 2013). Matilda was born 1 week later.  I managed to run until I was about 26 weeks pregnant. Then I continued going to the gym most days but cut back to walking. My pace gradually slowed until I was walking 8.5km/hr for 30 minutes each day.  While my weight gain during pregnancy was the same for both pregnancies (about 16kg), I believe that by staying active throughout my pregnancy, my fluid retention was reduced (I had significantly more fluid retention in my first pregnancy) and my weight loss after birth has been much quicker.  

One week after birth. Massive mummy boobs! And my 2 beautiful daughters!

Four weeks after birth. Still can't see past the mummy boobs. Arms aren't looking so great. What a great looking family!

Eight weeks after birth. Been back at the gym for 1 week. Not willing to show my legs in public yet! Arms still have absolutely no tone. Been working on them in the gym. Looks like I'll need to keep at it!

One up to me!

Every muscle in my body aches. It's 8 o'clock, Poppy has just gone to bed and I am comatose on the couch. It's exactly what I've been looking forward to for the past 4 hours. Since 4 o'clock. That's when I hit the wall. I had forgotten all about the wall but as soon as I hit it, it was like reuniting with an old friend. One you haven't seen for a while and you can't work out if that's a good or bad thing!

It's all because I flogged myself at the gym this morning. When I look at the numbers it doesn't look like much but I am starting from scratch.

5km - 38.5mins = 7.42mins/km

My goal was to do 5km. So I did some intervals:
5min warm up walk
5min run, 2min walk x 5

So I ended up actually running for 25 minutes! Amazing! No wonder I'm sore tonight.

On a slightly different note, I have found a solution to the wobbly bum - tight tights! Got myself some new Michelle Bridges kit yesterday and the pants are really tight which is very effective. Tried the same approach to help with my big mummy boobs but my uber tight crop top still didn't stop those babies bouncing around! Will need to try something else I think- perhaps 2 crop tops???

'What you do today can improve all your tomorrows'. Ralph Marston

Weight for the pain!

I woke this morning feeling pretty good after a 30 minute effort on the treadmill yesterday (3.4km = 8.49 min/km). That was until I tried to get downstairs! Legs felt good but surprisingly, I had some real tightness in both achilles. I have never had that before. Decided then that perhaps I should have a rest day from the treadmill and do some weights instead.

Why does it hurt so much the first time you do weights???

The most humiliating thing is seeing these old women and men using the machine before me and they hardly have any weight on it. Then when I get on to use it, I actually have to reduce the weight! And I still struggle to get thought the 12 reps! I suppose we all have to start somewhere.

I managed to get through my planned weights set - chest press, shoulder press, lat pull downs, seated row, leg press and leg curls. Boy did it hurt!

Last night I had a look online for some different ab exercises to do. I am notorious for skipping core work because I absolutely HATE crunches. So I found some others which were pretty good - toe taps, leg circles and I threw in a plank for good measure. Surprised myself by holding the plank for a whole minute!

I'm also still diligently doing my pelvic floor exercises. It's definitely getting better but I'm still not happy with how it feels. I'm convinced that the only way to improve it is to continue doing the exercises and strengthen the pelvic muscles. It makes sense to me that it is the same principle that applies to every other muscle in your body - to get stronger you need to work it.

So my first weights session is done and I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty sore tomorrow!

'Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.' Nido Qubein

My old friend

Today was my first visit back to the gym. Trent was home from work so after Poppy's swimming lesson, he looked after the girls so I could go in. As I didn't have much time, my aim was to do 20 minutes on the treadmill. I began with a walking warm up and then upped the speed. The first thing I noticed was how much everything on me wobbled! Particularly my rear end! Not a very nice feeling. But I guess the only way to get rid of the wobble is to keep doing it. I'm hoping it won't take too long to disappear. I also got very hot very quickly. Not sure if that's because I'm not very fit, or the fact I was wearing 3/4 tights (which I'm not used to running in), or a combination of both. But I'm not too worried about getting hot - might help to sweat off a bit more weight!

20 minutes - 2.5km = 8min/km (this was doing walk/run intervals)

Have booked in to go back again tomorrow.

Goals

My goal at the moment is just to increase the amount of time I'm running/walking for. Once I'm up to 30ish minutes, then I'll think about increasing my run time and decreasing my walking recovery time until I am running for 30 mins. Once I can do that I'll start increasing my pace.

After my pregnancy I only have 3 kilos to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy marathon weight. I'm not at all concerned about the weight as I know I'll drop this pretty quickly once I start running regularly. My main concern is getting rid of the jelly belly and toning up my legs!

For tomorrow - 30 mins on treadmill and core work.

'If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.' Jim Rohn

The start of something......

......I'm just not sure what!

Today is the start of getting back into shape. Why today? Matilda was born exactly 7 weeks ago, Poppy returns to Kindy this week and the suspension to my gym membership finishes tomorrow. The time is right!

So my original plan was to go back for my first session at the gym on Wednesday. That is the first day Poppy is back at Kindy and I just figured it would be easier for me to ease back into the gym only having one child in the crèche. The plan was to do a walk on the treadmill, some light weights and core work. I also wanted to have a go at running just to see how it felt. I figured I'd know pretty quickly whether I was good to go or not. That was Plan A.

Then Plan B came along.

Gym membership suspension finishes tomorrow, why wait until Wednesday? Surely it won't be too hard taking 2 kids to the crèche. I'll have to do it in a couple of weeks anyway so why not just do it now? I was still planning to do walking, weights and core and of course a trial run.

Plan C then arrived!

This afternoon, as a family, we went to the park. I decided that because it was Matilda's sleep time, I would walk there with my new BOB pram. Trent and Poppy drove and met me there. So off I set with every intention of walking at a cracking pace. Well, 5 minutes into the walk I just couldn't resist - running! And it felt ok! Legs of course felt pretty shit, but other than that I felt good. No pain, no leakages (a big concern) and I wasn't too unfit. I managed to get to the park in 15 minutes, 9 and a half of which were running!

So of course there is now a Plan D!

I WILL go to the gym tomorrow and see how I go running on the treadmill. This is very exciting as I will be able to get a good idea of where I am at. Should be interesting.

That is if I can walk in the morning!