let’s get this thing started

When I was newly pregnant with G, in that horrible pregnancy stage where you’re barely showing and so you just look “chubby” instead of the desired ”cutely pregnant,” I was sitting on the couch in our tiny apartment and watching that “Maps” video by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  The whole video panned around a room of very skinny people somberly watching the very skinny Karen O sadly sing onstage.  It told all of us that skinny people should eat and put a little meat on their bones or else it’s impossible to smile.  But all I saw was those skinny people and realized that I would never again be skinny.  I wasn’t at my ideal weight before getting pregnant, and then while pregnant I was gaining weight and growing out of clothes every week. 

Right after I stopped breastfeeding G I changed my interaction with food.  I began eating healthy, unprocessed foods.  Lots of fruit and milk and green tea, little sugar, and healthy-sized portions.  And I got skinny.  Not sickly and emaciated like the girls in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs video, but a small size 6.  And I was really happy with my shape.  Oh, and I did lots of Pilates.  Pilates is an awesome way to make you feel strong and in control of your body.

Then I got pregnant with Little Missy.  And because I was already eating really healthy I only put on a healthy amount of weight with her.  Then after she was born I joined a gym.  Because I didn’t feel like I was dieting after my first pregnancy I mis-remembered the weight as “easy” to get off, when actually it wasn’t “easy,” I just didn’t feel deprived.  So when the weight didn’t “easily” come off after my pregnancy with Little Missy I gave up and stopped trying so much.  And I never lost all that pregnancy weight.  Although now it’s been 2 1/2 years and I can no longer blame it on the pregnancy. 

I still eat pretty healthy.  We eat mostly whole grains (bread, rolled oats, pasta), natural peanut butter, very little soda, lots of fruit.  But I realized that I am eating A LOT of healthy foods.  And that’s not all that great, either.  Like, just because I’m eating olive oil and whole grain bread for a snack does not mean I should be eating 5 tablespoons of the olive oil and 5 slices of the bread.  That’s a lot of calories.

Last week we were at Playa Azul with Hubby’s parents when I ate my entire chicken chimichanga and all of my rice.  I’ve never eaten that much in one sitting.  I used to be able to eat half of my chimichanga before getting full and barely be able to pick at my rice, but last week I ate all of it.  And that’s when I realized my habits need to change.  I’m on a bad course right now.

This morning I went to a cardio-dance aerobics class at First Baptist Church.  It’s only $1.50 for the class and it was a good way to get started.  My friend Natalie teaches it, I knew almost all the girls in there, so when I was pink in the face after barely starting the cardio I wasn’t too embarrassed.  Now I just need to stop eating the cookies I bought at the store.