Has It Been A Year Already?? By Liimu

I’m sorry – I’ve been so inundated with work lately – big project, massive deadlines – I haven’t even had time to blog, let alone figure out how to do so in this fabulous new format. As a result, I’ve been out of touch. So, here’s what’s new with me.

Biggest news is, my baby turned 1. He was one year old on March 14.

 I can’t believe it’s already been a year! And he’s walking and talking and just generally growing up so fast. I also can’t believe that in the span of a year I have lost a whopping FIVE pounds.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t made any progress, mind you. I have made huge strides in learning how to become an intuitive eater, the idea of not being on a diet is no longer terrifying, and most of all I have turned the corner and now feel hopeful and optimistic that I am finally going in the right direction.

Essentially, two things happened over the past week that truly changed the game for me, without leading me astray from the path of intuitive eating. One, I was encouraged to log my food using MyFitnessPal. I love this app because it has a huge, extensive database with exactly the foods I’m looking for. If I want organic, part-skim mozzarella string cheese from Whole Foods, I can find exactly that. The second thing I like is that it gives such an extensive daily breakdown, it’s easy to see where I can make some fairly simple changes that will have huge impact. For instance, just knowing that I was getting a third of my calories from snacks helped me to make better snack choices. Likewise, seeing that the two areas where I’m consistently over my target are sugar and saturated fat has caused me to think twice at times when deciding between a scone and an Ezekiel muffin for breakfast. I still have a brownie if I want one, and I definitely am not falling into the trap of guilt or shame for any choice I make. It’s all a learning experience, and this app is giving me tons more data points than I had before.

The second thing that has happened is that I’ve gotten up off the couch and started moving. I have found what I call a “divine walk” just ten minutes from my house. I walk a fairly level trail for a mile and a half, then I head up some steep hills until I’m actually parallel with the tops of the trees. I sit and meditate for five minutes, then carry on with the hike until I’m back at the start, 4.5 sweaty, serene miles later. I have been doing this walk daily and hope to continue to do so. It has really helped me to get  my mind right on a lot of levels – (1) I meditate and visualize the whole time, rather than listening to mindless dance tunes, (2) getting in a good workout helps to quiet a lot of the “I could be doing more” noise, (3) the endorphins feel really great, and (4) communing with nature is a great way to start my day feeling closer to God.

Finally, this week I took a suggestion I had read about in magazines, books and heard about from friends but never had the balls to take before. I cleaned out my closet of all the “skinny” clothes I was hoping to one day fit into and am left with only cute clothes that fit my body the size it is now. I didn’t donate all the other clothes – I labeled them by size and put them all in the attic. As I reach each new size, I will donate the size before. As I get smaller, I am confident I am never going back and that feels really good.

So, hopefully year 2 of having Baby Max will finally reveal the journey you all have been patiently awaiting (as have I). As they say in recovery, don’t leave before the miracle happens.

Tags: first birthday, intuitive eating, losing weight without dieting, post-partum fitness, walking for weight loss, weight loss