One Small Step

I blogged this morning about a personal challenge.  Mummy Tummy Begone, is the name it’s been christened.  I’m fed up with the way I feel and the way I look and let’s face it, no one is going to do it for me so the time has come.

There was a very encouraging response and a plethora of comments from Mums everywhere who have struggled with the same thing that I am battling.  In particular, I am finding that a lot of Mums who are 1-2 years post delivery are in the same place as me which is comforting but also tells me that there’s something missing out there in the health & fitness world.  I’m hoping that the ladies who have commented and whom I have emailed will join me in this uphill climb.  I’ve even made a badge!

I’ve made some great progress on day one, I must say!  Little Miss and I went to the grocery store and bought a lot of fruit & veg, some good protein and NO BISCUITS or SNACKS whatsoever!  I had salad & veg for lunch accompanied by 2 Ryvita crisps with hummous spread (very thinly I might add) plus a handful of grapes.  I had a Cup of Soup for a snack and a VERY sensible dinner of chicken breast, roasted vegetables and couscous.  We even ate at the sensible hour of 7pm!

Here was the real achievement though!  Once hubby came home (around 6:15 tonight), I got my iPod which had been loaded with the “Glee” soundtrack earlier in the day, layered up and went out for a walk/run while hubby stayed with Little Miss.  I walked briskly down the street to “Don’t Stop Believin’” with a right kick in my step!  Then I tried running…holy.crap.  I think I have forgotten how to run!  I ran for about 40 seconds.  When I stopped, my feet could barely keep stepping.  The muscle that runs on the front of your shin (tibialis anterior, thank you very much) was in spasm.  It didn’t know how to cope with the minimal strain!  It took me several minutes for my normal gait to return!  I was battling with my iPod as well.  The headphones wouldn’t stay in my ears and I was trying to use the stopwatch feature to time my 1 minute of walking and 1 minute of running.

I persevered however.  I somehow managed to do another 3 stints of 60 second running but I needed quite a few more minutes in between those 60 second intervals to function properly.  I haven’t felt such pain in a long time!  The music helped.  The darkness helped.  I started to feel better and eventually feel quite good.  I was out walking and sort-of-running for all of about 30 minutes but it was a start.  I think I will still include running but I’m going to space it out differently.  I might attempt 5 minutes of speed walking and 1 minute of running.  Advice on this matter is much appreciated.

I arrived back home moderately exhilerated and got dinner on the table and enjoyed a healthy meal with my family.  I feel good and for the first time in a while am still full and not suffering from heartburn.  Day one is one small step for Cafe Bebe, one giant leap for Karin!  I may not be able to pick up my feet tomorrow or negotiate the stairs but I’m starting and will continue.  I promise I won’t bore you every day with a post about what I ate or the fact that I did manage to walk outside but I will share my baby steps throughout the week.  I hope you don’t mind and I hope you will join me in the challenge.  I’m going to take some ibuprofen now…I may be cursing Marathon Mummy Rachael tomorrow.