Weighing in

I would LOVE to be in the shape I was in when I was 24. When I was 23 I decided to start going to the gym consistently. and it paid off. I ended up being able to do an hour of high-intensity aerobics and immediately get on a Lifecycle for 45 minutes. I started off at 120 and ended up at about 112. What started off as a small soft blob turned into a slender and lean muscled body. My girlfriends at work ended up being worried about me when I lost the weight. They thought maybe I was having an eating issue but I had an appetite as healthy as a horse. I could eat an entire medium pizza all by myself. I could eat a 12 inch Subway sandwich on my own too. No, no, no...I wouldn't eat both at one sitting! Ha!

Anyway, I met my hubby after I'd gotten into shape and was in a size 3/4. Since I've met my husband (which is over 11 years ago) I've gained 20 pounds (I'm now at 132). Let's face it! Time goes by and the weight creeps up. But listen, during my first pregnancy I gained 55 pounds. During my second pregnancy I gained about 35 pounds. With both pregnancies I managed to get back down to my prepregnancy weight of 130. I'm fine with my weight but I'm unhappy not being in shape. I know I've got muscles just waiting to get stronger. I know I've got the ability to burn off the extra fat situated as love-handles on my waist. It's finding the TIME alone to get it done.

I don't want my Princess to think about weight. She's almost 4 years old and I don't want to be one of those girls who has a critical eye on her body. Right now she's tall (38 inches) and lanky (29 pounds). She's always had a green bean shape to her though. She's been in the 90 percentile for height but in the 25 percentile for weight since she was born. I want her to have a good impression of her body.

When we discuss food in our house we talk about that we eat so that our bodies stay healthy and strong. We don't talk about diets at all. I've discussed with her how everyone's body is made differently. I compare how my Bear has bulky muscles and how my Princess has lean muscles. I compare how I'm on the shorter side and my husband is on the taller side. We discuss how God just makes everyone different shapes and sizes. I never discuss how fat someone is. I never discuss how fat I feel. Not in front of the kids.

I don't buy cookies or cakes or ice cream or sugary cereals. The kids love tortilla ships, yogurt, cheese, and oatmeal! My Princess knows that cakes/pies are for special occassions, like birthdays. She knows when we go to a party that she'll be able to eat that kind of thing. I tell her that eating sweet stuff all the time isn't the best thing for her body or for her teeth. She's fine with that answer. About every other week (usually on a Sunday evening after dinner) we'll go out and buy vanilla shakes from Dairy Queen. Their tummies are full of real food and the shake just tops them off. So we do indulge them but make sure to ration out these treats and don't make them an every day thing. My Bear doesn't drink any juice, he eats enough fruits to satisfy him. My Princess still drinks diluted juice (50/50). That being said, they've never tasted any flavor of soda as yet. I'm hoping to keep that stuff out of their system as long as possible.

I know that I can't keep all the sweets and junk food out of their system. With my Princess now in preschool three times a week, I'm sure she'll be asking about that kind of stuff soon enough. If I allow her to have it then I'm sure my Bear will want his share. But I'm hoping to give the two of them a healthy foundation of eating while they're young. This way when they're older they can hopefully make healthy choices. This way the issue of weighing in won't be an issue for them when they're adults.

Now was there a point to this entry? I seem to have rambled on here and there. Basically I just hope that I'm bringing up the munchkins to think of food as a way to keep strong and healthy. To believe that sweets and treats are for special occassions. To eat only when they're hungry -- not when they're bored. Hopefully with a good foundation they'll grow into healthy adults who aren't critical about their bodies. {{{crossing my fingers here}}}