Outnumbered Two to One

Motherhood takes a lot out of a gal. It also packs a lot on a gal, particularly around the hip, thigh, and belly area.

This week I’m joining Casey at Half as Good as You along with all the other motivated contestants, in a weight loss support club for us doughy mom bloggers who want to shed some poundage and tighten some of our saggier muscle groups.

Once upon a time I was a skinny wisp of a girl…

This was Halloween about 15 years ago, when I was a tender 18 year old on my way to a part-time job at Sears. I weighed 100 lbs soaking wet, boasted a size 3 waistline along with some truly exquisite collar bones.

I don’t want to be 100 lbs ever again, I need to be sturdy to keep my brood in line. I do however want to feel a little better when I get on the scale.

I’m currently weighing in at about 125 lbs. Not too bad, but not a number I’m all together comfortable with. I’m 5′1″, I’m not gonna get any taller, and those extra ten pounds I want to lose sit right around my belly area and create a saggy, droopy, pinched muffin top effect even with my bigger pants. There’s got to be a cure, right?

Enter club Half as Small as You.

Here are the specifics.

1. What motivates me to want to do this challenge?

I want to feel good in my clothes, I don’t want to have to suck in my gut to button my pants and I don’t want to have to keep buying bigger sizes to accommodate a growing waistline. I also want to feel healthy. Right now, I tire very easily and I’m not as strong as I’d like to be. I also want to get in to the habit of eating healthier, because I do want to be healthy for my kids and myself.

2. What is my long term goal?

I want to tone and tighten my arms, legs, and midsection.  I want to build strength and endurance so I don’t get so winded chasing my kids around the yard. I want to develop the discipline to stick with an exercise routine indefinitely.

3. What is my long term weight loss goal?

I want to lose about ten pounds overall and be able to maintain that weight. I’d like to go down a size because I still have some clothes I’d like to bring back from hibernation. Right now I’ve only got a few pairs of pants that fit comfortably, a couple of pairs that I can squeeze in to, and a couple with elastic waist bands. I don’t want to graduate to the mu-mu , I don’t.

4. What tools are available to me?

I have a stationary bike, a jogging stroller, an aerobic step, hand weights, resistance bands, a medicine ball, a giant exercise ball, and about two dozen different workout videos. Yeah…all remnants of my failed attempts to workout consistently. For shame.

5. How often can I exercise?

I’d like to possibly do 2 days of aerobic exercise and 3 days of strength building exercises. From what I’m reading, building muscles helps burn calories even when you’re at rest so…I’m shooting for some killer biceps.

6. What do I plan on doing?

Well…I am going to start tracking my calorie intake by logging what I eat over at SparkPeople. I’m going to cutout the junk food completely except for a half serving of a dessert of my choosing after dinner…I’ve got to reward myself somehow. I want to control my portions and stop overeating like I constantly do, filling myself until I’m literally in pain. I also intend to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, and some green tea.

I am going to jump in to an exercise program, alternating aerobic DVDs and muscle building exercises I’ll borrow from the stacks of fitness magazines I’ve got laying around. I’ll also probably do some power walking around the neighborhood in the mornings, I don’t know if I’ll ever build up to jogging but we’ll see how it goes.

7. What has worked for me in the past?

I used to work out at a ladies fitness center back when I only had one baby, ten years ago my body was ready to spring back in to shape. I’d meet my sister there 3 to 4 days a week and for an hour and a half we’d bounce and lift and sweat our asses off. If there was a day I didn’t feel motivated, she’d call me on it and push me in to going. I did the same for her and it was a successful combined effort.

Now she lives too far, so it’s all on me. And hopefully the guilt and shame offered by the Club Half as Good as You.

Care to join us?

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