Cause and effect

It's been a little over five months since I gave birth, and my crazy pregnancy self thought I'd be in a bikini by now. The same crazy pregnancy self who was shoveling chocolate croissants into her mouth at impressive speeds. Cause and effect, crazy pregnant lady. Look it up.

I've been puttering around the last couple months, wanting so badly to lose the baby weight but also wanting so badly to hang on tightly to my Taco Bell/Wendy's/Jack N the Box addictions. GUESS WHICH DESIRE WAS KICKING THE OTHER'S ASS? I wasn't doing myself any good, and every time I'd try to kick start the weight-loss, I'd trip all over my own excuses and negativity.

My next post is up at Bodies in Motivation, and in it I talk about being aware of both the food I'm consuming and the way I internally talk to myself. These are two integral parts of weight-loss, I think. As I said in the BIM post, "If I knew a friend was  struggling with weight, I’d offer a million different words of encouragement yet, before now, I never offered myself a single one." That's bullshit, right? I deserve the same positive words I offer my best friend or my sister or a favorite blogger.

I tried to skirt around this for weeks, but there's a serious connection between how you feel inside and how you look outside and although it's a crazy, destructive pattern (I feel like crap because I eat badly because I feel like crap), I think -- as with anything else in life -- acknowledging and being aware is the first, painful step. Getting over that first, painful step is crucial to sailing on to a happier and healthier life.

Additionally, in the same BIM post, I talk about being somewhat complacent about life (food, fitness, finances) and that -- surprise, surprise -- no one is going to be my biggest fan or my strongest advocate if I don't take those roles seriously myself. If I can't be proactive when it comes to the important things in life, why would anyone else be proactive on my behalf?

Basically, this past week has been a really important one for me. I'm starting to realize how much control I have over my own happiness and health, and it's as simple as believing I'm worth the energy and the time.

Oh, and this week I lost 4 pounds.

Cause and effect. Seems I looked it up.

Comments

[Hillary]

Congratulations! The weight loss is great, but even better is how supportive you're being to yourself. Sounds corny, but god! it helps.

[Holley]

Holy shit! They make chocolate croissants?

[Mandee]

Way to go!

[Jess]

I'm glad things are falling into place for you! You deserve it!

Also, I am DYING for you to get your tax credit. Because that means ours won't be far behind. STEP ON IT, IRS.

[Mom101]

I gave myself permission during pregnancy to eat chocolate croissants for breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes for lunch, and generally something healthier for dinner like say, mac n cheese out of the blue box. It surprised me how hard it was to reverse those habits afterwards.I wish I had had you around to remind me to give myself some props and motivation. I mean, duh right?

Congrats on the 4 lbs. That's awesome x 4.

[AmyB]

Congrats on the weight loss! Dieting is a bitch. I've been at it for a couple months and it *is* paying off...SLOWLY. One plus is that since my husband and I are not allowing ourselves to go out to eat, we've actually saved money AND lost weight. I wish you much luck as you continue on this tough-but-worth-it journey.

[la petite belle]

i agree- and when i was losing the baby weight I found that eating crap because i felt like crap made me feel like crap even more because i knew i shouldn't be eating the crap and that really affected my self confidence. but take your time, this is not a race and you JUST had the baby. You'll be back in your bikini in no time. also, remember you have the rest of your life to be in a bikini, but Kyle will only be little once. :)