In retrospect, I think the biggest lessons I learned during this time about exercise are that 1. You really should try to do some form of exercise, even if it is minimal, whenever you physically can (meaning you aren't some sleep-deprived zombie and getting on a bike would endanger you) because you really will feel better and 2. Don't beat yourself up if it doesn't happen for days, or even weeks, at a time. You will go through spells where you won't be able to even move let alone exercise, but the next time the opportunity presents itself, JUST DO IT!
I remember when I turned 40 I went and bought myself a nice Schwinn bike. I think I rode it once a year for the first 5 years. I also remember vowing to commit to exercise a million times and then a million times failing for some reason or another. You know, you start out and then get sick, or one of the kids gets sick and then you get no sleep, or you hurt yourself and by the time you recuperate you've lost your resolve.
Or, you develop an umbilical hernia that resurfaces every time you're pregnant. Then one time, when you aren't even pregnant, it decides to resurface because you've been doing stomach crunches and then it gets infected and you have to have emergency surgery. And then you find out you're pregnant again. By the time I delivered that 11 lb 10 oz baby boy, I had ruptured the original hernia and gotten a new one! This is the point at which I wished I had really gotten myself into shape somewhere along the line.
After recovering from all that, I had decided, along with my doctor, that it was time to switch my thyroid medicine to a more natural kind. Unfortunately, it took a few years and a bunch of setbacks to get it right, so by then I had packed on quite a few pounds in addition to the weight I never lost after my last baby.
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| At the height of my postpartum and thyroid debacle weight gain! |
God Bless!
