Patch Takes It Off: Size 6 Pants, Here I Come!

I’ve always been the kind of person who gains weight very easily and at 5-feet-four on a good day, it’s not easy to hide.

After having had two kids in the past three years and a series of jobs where my butt was firmly planted on wheelie-chairs (for the past 16 years), I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to team with Natalie on this fitness challenge.

I’m now working part-time at a couple of freelance writing jobs, including Patch, but have a lot more freedom during the day to spend time with my kids (one is 3 years old; the other 7 months old).  Formal exercise presents a challenge with my little friends, but we get lots of informal workouts in via long walks, playtime in the backyard, swimming and random things like spontaneous dance parties in our living room.

My main issue is convenience foods. I do cook healthy, balanced meals at home. My issue is that I tend to skip breakfast and also eat carbs during the day, like pretzels, which I haven’t been good about tracking. I need to take the time to eat enough food, so that I'm not hungry and grazing on the wrong stuff.

In addition, my baby is a bit, shall we say, high strung.  She wakes up several times a night, does not drift off to sleep in a peaceful and compliant manner and likes to be held. All the time!  She’s adorable and funny, but sometimes when I’m up late with her or I’m stressed out by the crying, I find myself munching on crackers.

I’m going to up the exercise and make a more concerted effort to use my gym membership.  I’ll keep you updated on my progress there.

Mostly, though, I’m going to try to eat more proteins and low-carb fruits and vegetables.  Also, I’m going to go back to tracking my food online. I have an account at Spark People, to which I am recommitting.

My goal?  Size 6 pants.  I’ve been there before and I’m working my way back.  

Today, I walked the track with my toddler at Parsippany High School.  It’s a great place to go, if you haven’t tried it. The track is a soft rubber that provides a lot of cushioning, so it’s comfortable.  And it’s convenient to track your mileage since unlike walking outside, you know each lap is  a quarter-mile long.