I've finally started walking a bit, which has shown me how out of shape I am. That's not surprising, since I haven't done any exercise for about a year now. I put the baby in his carrier and I've walked (more like strolled) down the block and back. I've done that three times now, and it's getting easier each time, although I get tired and sore quickly. This is not one of those things I'm going to rush, since it's not really a healthy thing for a breastfeeding person to exercise and try to lose weight so quickly. All the extra calories and nutrients need to go to the baby, not towards burning fat. No marathons being run here! It seems obvious that if it took nine months of slow and careful weight gain, it should take some time to take the weight off.
My priority is my son, not trying to look like I never had a kid (at least not yet!). Of course, I want to look good overall, but not at the expense of my baby's nutrient intake. If I were formula feeding, it might be a different story, since he would be getting his vitamins from formula. But I don't want to formula feed. So yeah. The plan right now is to steadily increase the length of my walks, get some more endurance, and try to get my strength back. I'll continue to walk until he's about six months old, and then I'll start running and doing some weight training. I feel like this plan will work to help me keep weight off in the long run, since I'm not crash dieting and going exercise-crazy right now. I feel bad for celebrities who get photographed going to the gym two weeks post-partum. It's like they have to, just so they won't be criticized for not losing the baby weight fast enough.
Baby's crying, so I gotta go.
