Post Baby Body - Any Suggestions?

I really enjoy writing about my experiences as a new mom and my blog has been the perfect outlet. In general, I'm a transparent "open book" kind of person so pretty much what you see is what you get. I've been pretty open about all things related to mommy-hood and you can even read all about my boobs over on my Bravado Breastfeeding Diaries blog =) Ha!

One thing I've been kind of reluctant to write about has been my ever changing body image, specifically my weight ever since having my baby. I'll admit it, my previous posts about my body over on the Bravado blog have been sort of .. well... vague. Ughh, I hate that word. I mean, if you're gonna be vague just don't say anything. Either be direct or shut it up that's my motto.

I guess it's been kind of hard to put my thoughts together because let's face it, when it comes to my body image I am definitely insecure! When I stand at the checkout in Duane Reade and see magazines with new moms like Miranda Kerr (who is all kinds of gorgeous) I feel like -- "why don't I look like that?"

I'm pretty tall - 5'8 to be exact and on my wedding day 3 years ago I was 135 pounds. For me, that put me in a size 2 jeans, sometimes a 4 depending. This is my "skinny" weight. Granted, I have hips and a derriere so I will never be truly skinny, skinny. But that's fine with me... I am Puerto Rican and that's just how we roll :) Here is a picture of me from my honeymoon. I love how even though it's "from the side" my tummy looks nice and flat... ahhh these were the days:



















Yea I don't know, I was just posing (not really playing the video game) Lol!


A few months after my wedding, I put on about 10 pounds and remained pretty consistently at 145 lbs until I got pregnant. This put me at a size 6 in jeans which is where I feel the most comfortable. This is me at my pre-pregnancy ideal weight of 145:

A bit more around the middle and the legs but overall I feel pretty cute at this size.

Okay so then, I got pregnant... and throughout the pregnancy I was really good at not gaining too much weight. In general I am a healthy eater and always aim to just eat the simplest, most natural ingredients. I don't care about calories and I hardly ever weigh myself. I will take the REAL sugar over the fake aspartame stuff any day. At about 7 months pregnant, I had my maternity photo shoot and I felt fabulous. Here is a pic from that shoot with some tummy action:
























7 months pregnant with Aiden :)

Up until this point, everything was smooth sailing and I felt great. Then during months 8 and 9 I don't know what happened to me! I started to just want to eat everything... especially cake! And anyone who knows me, knows I am not even a cake person. I love cookies and ice-cream but for some reason I wanted CAKE. My birthday was only a few weeks before I gave birth and I had two different cakes and ate two slices of each... yep, that's 4 pieces of cake! I also started to retain mad water... like, my cheeks swelled up and my ankles just went on vacation. Here is a not so flattering pic of me just 2 weeks before I had the baby:























This is my friend Nai (short for Naomi, well actually Noemi in Spanish) who would blow dry my hair for me and come over to do dishes or whatever I needed while I was preggo. She's awesome and I have a feeling I will be doing lots of manual labor when it's her turn =)

But as you can see my dear reader - puffy face, puffy arms... puff the magic dragon.. yea I don't know. Overall, I gained about 40 pounds during my pregnancy. And yes, a lot of it was the baby, placenta etc. and water weight that came off over my first two weeks postpartum... but a lot of it was still there and NONE of my jeans fit and I started to live in my yoga pants! I don't have pictures for this period of time because I did not allow a camera anywhere near me. LOL but here is a picture of me 5 weeks postpartum during a trip to the Botanical Garden. I love that the stroller is blocking my mid-section ... it's safe to say I was about 157 pounds here. Because by this point, I had started weighing myself on the Wii Fit.



















I really do like this picture though :)

I know I shouldn't be so hard on myself... after all, I brought a child into this world right?! And it's the most happy thing I've ever experienced in my life ... but I am just admitting it right here and now -- I felt bad about myself and that coupled with postpartum hormones wasn't always easy to deal with. I can hear my husband now saying: "You're so Vain"... whatever Dude, you have no idea what it's like for a baby to take over your body! Anywell, I also need to mention that after having a baby, my skin was super loosey goosey and I needed to wear a girdle to feel good in my clothes. That's right I said it, a girdle!

So now, Aiden is 5 months old and I am happy to report that I've reached my pre-pregnancy weight of 145! Woohoo! I wear my size 6 jeans again and even a few size 4's. That's thanks to eating a balanced diet and breastfeeding.

So here's my problem -- the distribution is totally different now after I've had a child. I definitely carry a lot more weight around my mid-section and yep, I have cellulite on them thighs now. The only way out of this one is if I work out! But I am lazy... like, really, really, lazy. I'm good at eating right... I have no problems skipping out on dessert (though lately coffee ice cream has been my weakness) and I actually enjoy healthier foods. But when it comes to exercise I am just a lazy bum...

I have a gym membership and my gym is across the street from my office AND another one walking distance of my apartment. Trust me people, I have no excuses... I'm just lazy and I can think of about 1,000 things I'd rather be doing than running on the elliptical or lifting weights.

Finally, I come to the suggestions part --- do any of my lovely readers have suggestions on how I can tone up, get some exercise in a way that is fun and not so darn tedious? Have you done anything creative like a dance class or hypnosis? LOL! Help me before I go get plastic surgery!

~A

Food !!

When I was a little kid, I was a very picky eater. My mom had to take me to my pediatrician because I basically refused to eat anything except for crackers and cheese. Over the years I slowly began to open up to a whole new world of food and today can say that I would try just about anything... I LOVE FOOD! I enjoy eating but what I mostly love is how food brings people together. If you know anything about Puerto Rican culture, know this -- we cook and we eat! The two are very important which is why I started learning to cook at a very early age. I still enjoy trying out new recipes and cooking for my family... there is just a pride in this that I feel and can't quite describe. I love food!

About two years ago though, I saw the movie "Food Inc." and my relationship with food has changed. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Anyway, I learned how our food gets from the farm / manufacturer to our supermarkets and I was incredibly shocked! The "choices" that I thought I had when going to the supermarket are not really choices at all - just the same thing labeled differently. I saw how animals are treated and though I am not a vegetarian nor do I ever see myself becoming one, it still made me sad. There are studies that prove that the quality of life of an animal affects it's nutritional value for us once it is killed. To see the way chickens are raised in filthy conditions and injected with all kinds of hormones, steroids, etc. was very difficult... and I can't describe the feeling any better than simply saying -- I lost my appetite!

Since then, I have made small steps to eat better and support farmers who are still doing things the natural way. One really great thing I have discovered are FARMER'S MARKETS! I live in the Bronx and though most of the markets I go to are in Westchester, the city has some incredible farmer's markets too. Hunts Point Market right in the heart of the Bronx is great! There is also a pretty famous one in Manhattan (Union Square) and I recently was walking down Madison Ave. near 38th street and found a Farmer's Market Truck!! It's just like an ice-cream truck except with vegetables, pure maple syrup, and all kinds of goodies. It doesn't get much better than that!! By supporting Farmer's we can stand up to the big manufacturers and "food producers" ... we can hopefully over time show them that there has to be a change.

I try to buy all organic animal products although this can get pretty expensive. I'd love to go full on organic but our budget simply won't allow it. Even if a product is not organic, my rule of thumb is basically to go with the most pure, simple ingredients I can. Which means no more shopping based on price or what is on sale! I spend time in the supermarket reading the labels and deciding what I can live with and what is not going to be negotiable for me.

Here are a few things that are non negotiable:

BUTTER - I need the stuff that just says "Sweet Cream and Salt" nothing more! Parkay margarine for example contains things like partially hydrogenated soybean oil and sodium benzoate to preserve freshness. NO thank you!! If I wanted to spread that crap on my bread I would melt a Tupperware container. Only real butter for this lady please! And yes, it is high in saturated fat so it should be consumed in moderation.

SUGAR - I'm sorry I just can't jump on the Splenda/Equal/Sweet and Low bandwagon! Sugar substitutes contain a fun ingredient called Aspartame that has already been linked to several types of cancer. After learning that, the "no calories" just doesn't seem worth it to me. Again, it just needs to be consumed in moderation. I also love the RAW sugar... it's sort of a light brown color because it is unrefined and contains minerals that are usually stripped from regular refined white sugar.






MILK - As a milk lover, I have to say that organic milk is the best thing to have happened to me! It tastes soooo much better and I always look for the ones that are certified organic from free-range cows. I think a happier cow, makes better milk. Stop and Shop has a great brand called "Nature's Promise" that I love.







MEAT - this is where things can get expensive! When my budget allows, I must buy free-range, no hormones, no steroids added chicken. Out of all the types of meat, that is the one that affected me the most when watching Food Inc. Then, it's cow. BJ's has some really great deals on organic meat and it's always a great idea to buy in bulk. Then I simply separate everything into Ziploc freezer bags and freeze!




EGGS- Same concept because of the chickens =) And I just feel like they are yummier.



BEVERAGES - I will be the first to tell you that I don't enjoy drinking water. I need some flavor in my beverage! But please believe me when I say this -- Soda is the devil!! LOL.. I love the taste of Pepsi but refuse to put the stuff in me. It contains my biggest enemy - High Fructose Corn Syrup! So do most juices.. This is probably the place where I read labels the most. I try to go for all natural, 100% juice and the simplest ingredients possible. Apple & Eve has some great juice and when you mix juice with sparkling water it is just as good!

SYRUP - I hate the high fructose stuff with maple flavors (aka Aunt Jemima) so I really try to go for plain old, pure maple syrup. It tastes so much better on your pancakes or french toast! It's just really expensive for some reason. I buy it when I can.







If you haven't seen it yet - go out and rent "Food Inc." and then I'd love to hear what your non-negotiable food list is.

Now, I'm hungry! Off to make some yummy french toast for myself and Baby Picon :)