Down to earth moments

I swore in a previous blog that I refused to go on any diets or dislike my "mommy body." Well... that was that day, and this is today. You see, I have put on seven ugly pounds this year, which is equal to the number of pounds I'd put on the entire last decade. It is unacceptable.

So as I grapple with the fact that I'm close to outgrowing my Size 8 clothing, I have decided it's time to kick my own butt and lose all seven of those pounds by the end of the year. I have seven weeks to lose seven pounds. It won't be easy (especially since we're basically in holiday season) but I'm feeling pretty bad about how much I have obviously let myself go since breaking my healthy eating habits and beginning the downward spiral in March.

I started getting serious this weekend. On Friday night, I broke out my old Accelerated Winsor Pilates tape. I used to do these exercises fairly well about six years ago, when we lived in our old condo. There was one exercise I could never quite get the strength to do, but I was pretty darn good at everything else. And these exercises are TOUGH.

Well, long story short, I made it through the workout Friday night...after needing to use the "modified version" of four of the exercises and not even being able to touch the one I could never quite do. I realized while doing many of the stretches just how bad my lower back is. I also realized how completely out of shape I am after abandoning my running in early June and not picking up with anything else. I'm still sore today.

So here's my plan:
1. Winsor Pilates 3 times per week. It's a good, low impact activity I can do to regain good balance and re-strengthen my core (abs). It's also great because I can do it in my own home, whether it's dark outside or not.
2. Running 1-2 miles 3 times per week. Okay, that's a start with getting back into my running routine. Next month, it needs to be at the 2+ mile mark each time I go out. I went early this morning, determined to run a full 2 miles (despite my inactivity these last 6 months) and did OK. I ran 1.5 in a little over 16 min., then had to walk .25 so I didn't collapse, then ran the last quarter mile, finishing the two miles in around 23 min. Not exactly great, but it was a start.

As for my diet, I've decided to add in more fruits and take away half of the sweets. I also significantly increased my water intake this week at work and plan to continue that. Finally, I'm going to force myself to eat breakfast at least 5 days a week (something I'm very bad at) and stop eating after 7:30.

Hopefully, by doing these things, I can enter 2009 where I started it. Goal weight: 141 lbs.