Progress report

I took this photo yesterday post workout. I have been doing a lot more strength and trying to push my limits. I am now at a steady weight and my goals changed sometime back. I am trying to improve endurance, achieve more definition by building muscle, reduce my body fat (which reminds me, I really need to measure that, seriously? How else will I know I'm going in the right direction?) and just being a bad ass. I feel good when I complete a workout that I thought I couldn't...I'm removing that word from my vocabulary for now,...I can....I will. 

Have an active day folks!

Relax mama! You just gave birth!

I am a member of a group in one of the social media online  that consists mainly of mothers who have chosen on a total lifestyle change in order to have healthy bodies and families. I enjoy the discussions and the very real challenges that mothers who do not have the luxury of nannies and cooks, go through everyday to maintain health and/or lose weight.

New and old members alike bring up one issue all the time, pressure from loved ones and not so loved ones :-) on regaining their 'figure' after having the child/children.

I have spoken on this issue before. However, I do not hesitate to write about it again as I believe in today's image obsessed world, we tend to forget what is important and what is not. We live such a fast paced life that we forget not everything moves at super sonic speeds.

What is important is that your body is an amazing vessel. It took two cells and in nine months or so, incubated, nourished and converted these two cells into a brand new human being so cute it just makes us all go...awwwww.

To do this, all your reserves were depleted. Your bones became more brittle, even your teeth became more susceptible to cavities. I should know, I still have a temporary filling from my sixth month of pregnancy...I should really visit a dentist. Back to my point...Your abdominal muscles were stretched, some might have even separated. Your body started storing fat in order to nourish that little baby when the time came. We won't even start with the skin issues, shoe size issues, hair issues....It's a process, and it takes time.

When you finally download the cute little thing, your body begins to manufacture external nourishment so complete that for the first six months, this brand new human being will need nothing else. Cute as it may be, this little human really poos a lot. For the first two months at least, night is day and day is night. It constantly needs to be fed, you have hardly just fallen asleep than there is that little whimper that will progress to a full blow wail...who knew such little lungs could produce a sound akin to a vuvuzela. If you had a C section, moving is a hustle, there is pain. Bleeding is still going on. Then there is breast engorgement to worry about, sore and cracked nipples...oh and the other kids? They still need to be fed.!

Then your nosy neighbour comes and comments that you're not losing the weight fast and you should really take care of yourself better....

Seriously?

Relax Mama! You just gave birth!

While it is important to consider your own health, it is important to be realistic. Not everyone has a nanny or two, personal cook, personal trainer, etcetera. For the lucky few, we envy you. However, for the rest of us mortals, you have to realise it takes patience. Yes we do have to make sacrifices, make time to take care of ourselves, but it takes time to find a rhythm, to heal, to bond with our babies. And then after that, getting back to our former selves may take longer. Finding four hours a day to work out might not be feasible. Half an hour might be more doable. It also means the results will be slower coming.

It is difficult to do so....but really Mama, relax...you just did a wonderful thing. The rest will come in good time.

Cleaning up my diet

I have been in denial about what I eat. In fact, I justify it that I am so active, I could burn off most of what I eat very fast. While that might be true, I am making myself work harder for results that I could have seen much sooner had I cleaned up my diet a long time ago. It has been said over and over again that diet is 80% of healthy living/body building. I am reluctantly becoming a firm believer in that. Following that, I have taken the following steps to try and clean up my diet further.

1. I am currently on week 2 of a no chocolate challenge. I had become addicted to dark chocolate, eating it almost every night. While it is the healthier option when it comes to sweets, candy....it is not a necessary part of my diet and in fact, had become a bit of an addiction. I don't feel the need for it.

2. Diet cola drinks - I took care of my sugar cravings a long time ago. Occasionally, I have a diet cola drink with my meal. I don't have to have it, I just do. Carbonated water with a piece of lemon would be just as delicious. Why I don't make that choice, I don't know. So now I will consciously avoid these low calorie drinks. Research has it that they make you crave for something sweet and those that drink copious amounts of these drinks actually have thicker waists than those that don't. The artificial sweeteners are also harmful to health in the long run.

3. After workout smoothies - I resisted them for soooo long but now, I have begun making a protein and fibre rich after-workout smoothie in order to aid recovery. Part of this reason is that waiting for dinner or lunch sometimes took more than two hours, I would feel finished and be very cranky by meal time. You also do need to energise after a workout. So far so good. I use some greek yoghurt for protein, I still haven't got to supplementing with protein powders, that is the next step.

We in Kenya are waiting for the results of the general election...it is difficult to concentrate on other things remembering the violence that followed the announcement in the last elections. Keep safe, keep active.

Have a peaceful day!