Anna is 10 months old, and I still haven't lost all of the baby weight. When I got pregnant for the first time, I weighed ~145. I gained ten pounds before I miscarried, and never lost it before we started trying again. I went on fertility drugs and gained a whopping 14 pounds in one month before I even got pregnant. Thank god I got knocked up on the first try! Thanks to the gestational diabetes I managed to only gain about 28 pounds during pregnany, keeping me barely under that terrifying 200 pound mark. After the baby I lost 15 pounds in the first month, 5 pounds the next, and have been pretty well STUCK at ~175 since then. Oh, that myth about breastfeeding helping you lose weight? It's BULLSHIT. And yeah, they say "nine months on, nine months off" but the nine months have come and gone, and I'm still fat. This is particulary depressing for me, since--as loyal long-time readers will remember--I went through a major weight loss/shape up back in 2001 wherein I lost over 50 pounds, and got down to 117 pounds and 14% bodyfat. I had Muscle. I had a six-pack.

It was also too skinny for me, and so when I backed off a bit off of the ultra intense (insane) exercise and diet regimen I'd been on, my weight stabilized nicely at about 135. I looked good at 135. Then I got married, and it crept up to 140-145, but I still liked how I looked and felt good about myself.

Right now? I hate my body. Ugh. I have this big pouch of belly fat. I never used to have a belly before! And I really don't believe that there's "no hope" to lose it since I had a baby. I've known far too many women who have quite successfully managed to trim down and shape up after several children.

Unfortunately, there's simply NO way I can go back on the program that I used back in 2001. I was single and had no life back then. I would get up in the early morning and go run five miles. Then I would go to the gym and work out for an hour on weights. Then I would do an hour of cardio. I would eat egg whites and chicken breasts and tuna fish and broccoli and protein shakes and I never had to worry about what other people in the house were eating.

So, I'm squeezing in what I can. I've started doing the 10,000 steps program, where you wear a pedometer and try to get up to at least 10,000 steps every day. (Studies have shown that walking 10,000 steps is the optimum for weight management and cardiovascular health. Google "10,000 steps" and a bunch of cool sites come up.) I bought a $10 pedometer at Walmart, stuck it on my belt and went about my business. I discovered very quickly that 10,000 steps is a LOT harder than it looks.

At the end of the first day I was stunned and dismayed to find that in just regular daily activity, I walked a whopping 2500 steps. Holy crap. Talk about a definite wake up call about how sedentary I was!

Next day, I went up and down the steps a few extra times. Made it to 3000. Akk. Talked to the office manager and one of the drug analysts about walking during our lunch hour. They were enthusiastically agreeable.

Next day, drove around the block at work, discovered it's exactly a mile to go all the way around the jail. Bought $4 pedometers for the ladies at work, and we went walking on our lunch hour. Was able to add 2000 steps from that extra mile. Discovered the competitive streak in my coworkers as we began comparing our step numbers throughout the day. Started taking the ultra super long route through the building to the bathroom in order to add 200 steps.

Next day, stuck the stroller in the car before I left home. Did the walk at lunch. Picked up the kid after work. Stuck her in the stroller. Went down to the lakefront and walked another 2.5 miles. Yay! Ended up the day at 10, 046!

I am now into a routine of walking every day at lunch (except when it's raining.) We've managed to snag a couple of women who work at the jail to join our little walking gang. People scatter in fear before us. After work I race to the gym and squeeze in about 30 minutes of weight-lifting and then dash to the daycare, stuff the kid into the stroller and crank out another 5000 steps for the day.

So here's my dare for all of you. Buy a pedometer. They're cheap. See just how many steps you take during the day. I'm willing to bet that most of you will be shocked at how few steps you go during a normal day. Now, try to get to 10,000 steps every day.

I'm going to post my step count daily (or as often as I post an entry) and I'll post my weight weekly. (Ugh!) Who wants to join me? (Feel free to post in my comments if you don't have a journal/blog of your own.)

***

Monday steps: 11,173
Weight: 176

***

Oh man, I'm behind in posting my history links. Here's a weeks worth.

Feb 24: 1999
Feb 26: 1999
Feb 27: 1999
This day: 1999

Feb 26: 2002

The Worst Day Of My Life