From frumpy to fabulous?

It’s that point in winter where I am officially stir-crazy and longing for sunshine.

Combine that with the fact that I still need to lose my baby weight, and the fact that almost nothing in my closet fits or looks cute, and it’s a recipe for me wanting to sit around in my sweats all day and eat Bon-Bons. What are Bon-Bons, anyway? I’ve never had them. Okay, I’ll change that to “sit around in my sweats all day and eat cookies ‘n cream ice cream.”

A couple years ago, I lost 30 pounds. I felt great. I had more energy. I enjoyed shopping for clothes and looking nice. I didn’t cringe when I saw my wedding photos. It was great!

Then I got pregnant. I was almost halfway through my pregnancy before I gained anything (my “morning” sickness actually made me lose weight at first). Then I packed on the pounds. I dropped a fair amount of weight within the first few weeks after G was born. But breastfeeding makes me RAVENOUS. And I’m not always good at making sure I have healthy snacks in the house. Or at making sure I eat proper meals when I’m trying for half the day to get this sassy baby to nap… that means I get too hungry and then eat too much. I actually gained back a little bit of the pregnancy weight that I had lost those first few weeks of G’s life.

Now it’s time to make these changes happen. I don’t want my son to see me as a frumpy housewife with no confidence. I want him to see me as his hip, healthy mother. I want him to know his parents as healthy, active people. I want him to have good eating habits and to see exercise as a normal part of life. But it’s up to me (and his father) to lead by example.

I read two blog posts today that were very inspirational. Both of them are from beautiful blogs that I recommend you check out. First, I read this post over at styleberryBLOG. And then I read this post over at jones design company. (Seriously, though, check these blogs out, they are great!)

Both of those posts were what I needed today, after a tiring week. I’m in a slump. I’m not feeling good about myself. I don’t feel pretty, or sexy, or like leaving the house.

This weekend, I am going to do these things:
1) Purge my closet. I was already going to do this, actually, but now I’m going to be absolutely BRUTAL. Nothing maternity. Nothing that I don’t love, or that isn’t a wardrobe staple.
2) Buy myself something nice to wear, and a cute accessory.
3) Dust off my 30 Day Shred DVD, and put it where I can see it.
4) Go grocery shopping for healthy foods and plenty of quick, healthy snacks to keep me going during the day.
5) Get out my workout clothes.
6) Make a meal plan for dinners for next week.

My goals for each day next week:
1) Wake up each morning before my family.
2) Workout.
3) Shower, put on makeup, and put on a nice outfit.

I don’t want to do anything to compromise my milk supply. I’m not going to do anything drastic. No crash diets. No severe calorie restriction. But I am going to make sure I am eating a lot of real foods. I’m going to be better about meal planning. I’m going to drink more water. I’m going to make time to workout. I’m going to begin making a lifestyle change that I can stick with.

Wish me luck!

Fathers’ behaviors contributing to birth defects and health of offspring?

Here’s an interesting article about findings that suggest that “drinking, smoking, taking prescription meds or failing to eat a balanced diet can influence the health of men’s future children.”