Baby Fat - And the Dieting Begins

February 1st officially began my battle to fight all that was gained and still remains after giving birth to Caroline. The best thing I could have done for myself was set and achieve a weight loss goal before I became pregnant. It was the first time I’ve even been able to lose weight and I learned three critical things from the experience. First, I learned what I need to do in terms of my meal plan and exercise routine to lose weight. Second I discovered that deep down, way deep down, I do have the will power to stay away from the ice cream isle and stop eating when I’m full. And the third and most important lesson, I learned how much fun it is to shop for clothes when you like your body. I will never forget the feeling of walking through the mall with bags of clothing that I was really excited about wearing. It’s amazing how many great outfits you can find when you don’t have to rule out those things that just won’t conceal the love handles.

With all that said, here is my plan. Without making it official by writing it down and being able to read it when I might be tempted to get my next meal at Starbucks, I might be more inclined to fail.

1. Plan ahead. Every night before going to bed, write down the menu for the next day that is within points range (I love my weight watchers).

2. Prepare meals before you’re hungry. The foods I grab when I’m starving are typically not carrots and celery sticks.

3. When I’m feeling like snacking, ask myself if eating carrots or celery sticks would satisfy me. If not, chances are I’m not really hungry.

4. Continually make short term goals throughout the day to stop myself from pigging out. This can be anything from eating at scheduled times to distracting myself with a project when I'm craving something to eat. Typically, if I can make it until bedtime, my willpower returns in the morning.

5. Exercise a minimum of 3 times a week. This is a much less than I was doing when I lost the weight before, but it’s difficult for me to even have a full 20 minutes to myself these days. If I can’t get to the gym, I will throw in my exercise video. In addition, any day it is warm enough outside, I will take a long walk with Caroline.

6. I will put money away each week and when I’m back to my pre-baby sizes, will reward myself by going shopping.

I need to remember that feeling good about my body is worth so much more than the 15 minutes of satisfaction I get from eating cookies or ice cream. I also need to be in shape enough to keep up with Caroline once she’s crawling all over the place! If the weight is finally off and stangers mistake me for the nanny, I will be very pleased.