By Jenette Jurczyk
This week marks the start of almost feeling like myself again. My new daughter is settling into her routine and I’m not too uncomfortable to sit on the floor and play with my precocious toddler. I have a sense of relief as I am able to start taking on more of the cooking and housework and chores that require some physical movement. My goal of losing 40 pounds by August is not just about a number. It is about gaining back some of the physical fitness I have lost in the past few years. So, I am taking inventory of where my body is right now, not just in pounds, but in performance.
Jenette is ready to face her weight loss challenge head on . Photo Credit: Jenette Jurczyk.
Towards the end of my pregnancy and even now, I have realized that I rely less and less on my own body to hold me up. I will sit down, rather than stand. And even when I am standing, I will lean on a wall or table or counter, so I am not completely holding myself up. When I am standing in one place for a while, I find that I sway from side to side, shifting my weight. This raises a red flag to me that I need to work on regaining my core strength and build up my stamina. I admire the women who are in great physical shape prior to getting pregnant and are able to maintain some fitness throughout their pregnancy, giving them an easier time with their post-baby weight loss. I was not one of those women, so I have my work cut out for me to get back in shape.
I have fond memories of when I was single and life was not as chaotic, when I would go to the gym and even work out with trainers. I also have always enjoyed cooking and finding creative ways to make healthy meals. In these past few years of working, finishing graduate school, and becoming a first-time mommy, I allowed the craziness of life to take over and take me away from some of these things that are truly important. I am using my maternity leave as a time to slow down and change some priorities in my life. I am grateful for this chance. I am also grateful for the wisdom and inner peace that comes with age. There was a time when I would beat myself up for not being at my lowest weight or for eating something I shouldn’t. Right now, however, I am celebrating my body for the miracle it just performed and thanking it every day. I am appreciating the little things like the fact that I have a waste again when my husband puts his arms around me and that I can wear my pre-pregnancy pants without the zipper crying for help.
I did step on the scale this week to monitor my progress and I am at the same weight I was a week ago… 10 pounds below my starting weight. This tells me that my weight is bottoming out post-baby and that to maintain this weight and continue to lose, I am going to need to be more aware of what I am putting in my mouth. Now, it’s not as if I live solely on Doritos. I actually tend to eat a nutritious and varied diet of mostly home-cooked meals. But like any normal busy mom, I have cravings that sometimes take over and I have times where eating is more about convenience than it is about nutrition. It’s time now to start paying attention to the relationship of when I am truly hungry and what and how much I eat. I do attribute some of the start of my weight loss to the infant-and-toddler diet I am now on. I cannot get through a meal without my 1 year-old pulling me away from the table to play or my infant wanting to nurse as soon as I take the first bite of my meal. I am definitely eating less at meals, which should be great! I am noticing, however, that I tend to eat more mindlessly because of the distractions as well. I will nibble while preparing dinner or finish what’s left on my toddler’s plate. These are extra calories that I haven’t really been counting so far, but they are going to make a difference in whether or not I reach my goal.
These are all great observations of where I am at with my body and my diet, so now I can use this data to make better choices moving forward. Since I am breastfeeding, it’s important that I choose nutrient-rich foods that nourish my body and my baby. I will want to choose exercises that are combination of cardio for calorie burning and weights or resistance to improve my fitness and find a balanced regime that I can stick to for the long term.
This next week is the time to start welcoming some change. I can start with small, simple things, like starting each day with a cleansing glass of lemon water and being sure to eat more fruits and vegetables. I am ready to face this challenge head on. And rather than look ahead 25 weeks and think about losing 30 more pounds, the best thing I can do is look at the 7 days ahead and focus on losing only 1 pound. These small, attainable goals are going to keep me motivated to stay on course. Here we go!
Jenette Jurczyk is like any new mom struggling to balance work, marriage, life and wellness while raising 2 young daughters. A native of New Jersey, she graduated from the University of Illinois and then lived and worked on both the east and west coasts. She returned to Champaign in 2009, when she married her husband, Brian. For the past 3 years, she has been the General Manager of the ONE Apartments in Urbana, and in 2013, she received her MBA from the U of I. She is very involved in the community through organizations like Junior League and the Celebration Company at the Station Theater. Jenette and Brian welcomed their first daughter, Genevieve in August 2012 and their new daughter, Juliana in January, 2014. Jenette has always had a passion for writing and is excited to share this journey, which she believes so many women can relate to.
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