Body After Baby Week One

Yes, it's that time again. Body After Baby over at Samantha's Mama Notes blog.

I haven't had much success in my quest to lose these last 15 pounds of the weight I gained while carrying Jordan. I don't know what the deal is. I seem to lack mojo when it comes down to it. I've been stuck here for WELL over a year.

As usual, I'm great when it comes to working out. I don't even eat THAT badly. As a matter of fact, I eat pretty well, except I add a few too many extra treats. Sam Adams holiday special beer and Aztec chocolate spice cookies, anyone?!

Really, it's discouraging, but I do want to lose the extra padding. I'd love to be back in the "happy place."

I did it before and can do it again.

Recently I read the new version of an old favorite, Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet. The new book, Eat Clean Diet Recharged is way better than the old one and quite motivating. As a matter of fact, even though it's only been a few weeks since I read it, I just requested it from the library to read again. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

The "clean" approach to eating is simple: Cut the crap. If it's processed, man-made, etc., then it's not really food. Keep it as close to whole as possible. Lean meats, eggs, a big variety of fruits and veggies, whole grains, dairy. Remove white flour and sugar, corn syrup, trans fats and ingredients you can't pronounce. Shop the perimeter and skip the boxes (at least, for the most part.)

I have weight loss goals, for sure. I have fitness goals, too. I want to be able to do pull-ups and one-arm pushups. I want running to be easy again. I want my energy levels to skyrocket.

A biggie? I want to avoid cancer. My dad's had it twice and mom's fighting it right now. I figure my best bet there is to treat my body better than I've been treating it.

So, for this challenge, I'm going to focus on making it a habit to eat cleaner. I still plan to enjoy some holiday treats. I'd be stupid to say "Oh, I'm not going to have any Christmas cookies or wine or blah blah blah." How boring! I want to LIVE. I just want to live BETTER.

So, that's it. My plan is to clean up my act in the kitchen and see what happens. If I do it right, I should start losing the pounds, slow and steady. I should see almost immediate increases in energy. I should be able to fit more comfortably into my jeans and maybe sometime soon I can wear some of those cute little shirts I got when I was thinner, before having Jordan.

I'm ready for good things to happen.