Healthy Aggression

Six weeks is the official post-partum time when body is going through major changes and is still recovering. It's then obvious to say that after six weeks the body has recovered and among other things, is in it's pre-pregnancy weight! I gained 15 kg during pregnancy and when I got home from the hospital I had lost about 8 kg. Right after birth I looked like I was 6 months pregnant and then my body started to shrink within days! For a couple of weeks I saw really big changes. My bellybutton turned back inward and the tummy wobble got waaaay less scary. And then it all stopped. My weight fluctuated between 4-6 extra kg. When the magical six weeks had ended and my weight was supposed to be magically back to normal, I still couldn't fit into the clothing I wore at 4 months pregnant and I was not happy about it.

So I did what every self-respecting woman would do in this situation - I moped and whined! I sorted through my clothing, "And I can't fit into this one either! And this one, and this one...". Every time I passed the mirror, I let out a heavy sigh. Every time I drank water I tried to find consolation in the thought that my body will probably use some energy when it consumes each molecule of water. But then I remembered I already use 500 kcal per day just by breastfeeding and I'm still not losing weight. It must mean I eat horrible amounts of food and I should start to limit my menu, perhaps by giving up everything that makes eating worth the effort. Erkki tried to make me feel better with compliments and it did make me feel better, but I still knew I weigh too much.

I eat less now than I did during pregnancy, but I also move a lot less. Before pregnancy and even during pregnancy I walked over an hour each day. Now I occasionally just have brief walks with the baby in carrier. Breastfeeding isn't enough to make up for the difference. Perhaps this is why so many women can't lose weight after giving birth even if they breastfeed. The obvious solution is to start working out again, but there's one problem with that - the closest decent gym is DAMN FAR AWAY! It takes 30 minutes of brisk walk just to go there and almost 40 minutes of tired walking to get back home. Another reason to whine and mope.

After about three days of moping I had finally gathered enough resolve to really take up exercising. As you can see the moping was all part of the BIG PLAN! It's really hard to take up sports after a long pause but if I visualize the reasons for sporting very well then it seems like it's worth the effort. The plan didn't really include being less fun around the house but I had to overreact to the situation to feel motivated. And then I made arrangements to exercise twice a week! There were two classes that I liked so I started going to both.

My first choice of sports was Bodypump - it's like an aerobics class but in stead of dancing people stand there and lift weights together. That's like man aerobics, except it's not aerobic exercises. The room is still mostly full of women but two or three men is more than I've seen in any aerobics class. It seemed almost everyone was taking it easy because I used the same weights as most women there and I managed to keep up almost until the end. Instructor occasionally advised me to use lighter weights but I really didn't want to! One of the hardest exercises was lifting weights to the side with straight arms. I used to do this exercise in the gym with 6 kg weights and now I used 1,5 kg. Using even smaller dumbbells seemed like a joke. In hindsight maybe he was right... I have been aching all over for about a week now. I have no regrets though - NO PAIN NO GAIN, right?

The second choice was Bodycombat. That's just so perfect. It's like stress relief class and anger management class all in one. Not that I'd REALLY need either of those but it's good for prevention! In bodycombat they play cool energetic music with strong beat and people all together punch and kick the air! Instructor encourages, "kick!!! KICK! Stronger! Faster!!". My roundhouse kick would make Chuck Norris laugh and my kung fu hits would make any old Chinese man with long white moustache shake his head but I walk out like a new person. It seems that being aggressive in controlled environment can really boost the spirit.

This is the third week of exercising now and my muscles are really feeling it. I haven't weighed myself because I don't expect weight to start dropping so soon and I don't want to discourage myself by knowing this for sure. But I'm quite proud of myself for exercising. Yay! Go me!